Bet On Me
by Livelier
Summary: In first year, James and Sirius made a bet on how many times James would have to ask a certain redhead out before she says yes. Now, it's their final year at Hogwarts, and the bet is still on. Will James bow out, or will they both end up getting hurt?
1. Letters to Lily

A/N: I've been working on this for a while now without having any idea about where I going with it, but I've got a few ideas now, so I decided i would just go ahead and post this. Let me know what you guys think, so I know if I should continue it or not. R&R. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The plot is the only thing that is mine. Any characters you recognize belong to the incredible J.K. Rowling, who, sadly, I am not. Savy?

Chapter 1:

_Summer before Seventh Year- Lily Evans_

Lily was laying on her bed, raving over her and Petunia's latest argument. When Lily's Hogwarts letter had come by means of owl, the poor animal had frightened her sister. Petunia went on ranting about how only freaks send post by owls, and only freaks got letters from a magical school in the first place.

Lily slapped herself mentally. She wasn't supposed to care what Petunia thought; they hated each other. She sighed, knowing this would never be true, and proceeded to open the letter.

Her eyes scanned the note quickly, but soon stopped. Lily reread the last part again, and her bottle green eyes widened. She squealed excitedly and turned the envelope the letter had come in upside down. A shiny, silver badge fell out, and Lily picked it up carefully, not wanting to leave fingerprints, or damage it.

The badge bore the Gryffindor symbol, and had the words _Head Girl _scrawled over the top of the lion. She pinned it on her Muggle shirt and ran downstairs, ignoring Petunia's glares, and muttered comments.

"Mum, look! I made Head Girl!" Lily exclaimed jabbing her finger at the badge proudly. Mrs. Evans moved forward to get a closer look.

"Congratulations, baby!" her mother cried and pulled Lily into a hug. Mr. Evans entered the room, curious as to what all the noise was. "Oh, Jason, our little girl got that badge she's been wanting!"

Jason Evans joined in on the hug, beckoning Petunia to come over. Petunia glared, stuck her nose up in the air, and stomped up the stairs. Lily's parents stared after her sadly. "I'm so proud of you!" Mr. Evans whispered in his daughter's ear, and then kissed her head. "Come on, let's celebrate!"

Lily pulled away from her parents, and smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry, but I promised Alice and Camey that I'd go to Diagon Alley with them today. But maybe we can go do something tomorrow," she suggested. Her mum and dad nodded eagerly and kissed her cheek.

"That's alright, sweetie. We're flexible. You just go ahead and have fun with your friends!" Rose smiled at her daughter warmly, and shooed her back up to her room.

When Lily reached her room, another owl was tapping at her window. When she opened the window for him, he dropped three letters on her desk and then perched on her windowsill. Lily opened the first of the letters, smiling; she recognized her best friend's messy print right away.

Lily-

**Congratulations on making Head Girl! Well, I hope you did, otherwise this letter would make you feel truly dreadful. But who else would it be? Certainly not Camey—she's too big of a flirt to be Head Girl…**

**Anyways, Camey is at my house right now, and we plan on Apparating to your house, so we can all travel to Diagon Alley together. We'll celebrate over ice cream—Camey can pay. Owl me back with a time. See you soon!**

**Love, Alice**

Lily laughed and scribbled her reply. She set her letter to Alice aside and opened the second letter. She grimaced when she saw the opening statement.

**Hey, Lilykins! I'm guessing you made Head Girl? I just knew you would. Dumbledore was bound to choose you—you're too pretty, smart, and unfun not to be!**

_Sirius, can you try not to be such a prat? She's probably thinking about what hexes she can use against you when she sees you next. Anyway, good job, Lily!_

**Aw, how sweet! You're such a gentleman, Prongs. Lily is sure to fall in love with you this year. I'll tell you, Lily, he took what you said about growing up very literally. He spent the entire summer—**

_Now would be a very good time to shut up, Padfoot. And would you stop taking the quill out of my hand! Ugh, there is no way we're sending this to Lily_.

**Of course we are, Jamesie. In fact, we're sending it right now. Congrats, Lily Flower! We'll see you soon!**

_Sirius! No—_

The letter ended there, and Lily stood with the letter in her hands, feeling very amused, and trying futilely to suppress a smile. She ran Sirius's words through her head a few times, puzzling over what it could possible mean, and why James cut him off so abruptly. _'He took what you said about growing up very literally…_'

Lily shook her head, and set the letter next to Alice's without bothering to write a reply. She picked up the final envelope and very carefully slid her finger under the edge, trying not to rip the Hogwarts seal. It was just instructions on what her duties were as Head Girl, and the expectations she was going to be held to. There was also a bit explaining what was going to happen on the train in a few days' time.

She tied the letter to Alice on her owl's ankle, and watched him fly out of the room. Lily spent the next few minutes awaiting Alice and Camey's arrival, and pondering whom the Head Boy could be.

_Knowing Dumbledore, it will probably be someone completely unexpected, _Lily thought. _Hmm, maybe Amos Diggory? I've heard he's fairly nice, and has top marks in his classes. Or, it could be Sirius Black. He's the opposite of what people are going to assume. But, no, he would have told me in that letter. James would have told me if it was he, too. _

Disappointment flooded through knowing it wouldn't be James. Lily pushed the feeling back and chided herself mentally. _You hate James! _one side of her argued.

The other, more reasonable side spoke up. _No, you don't. You have to admit he's not that bad, and after the last few weeks of sixth year, he is actually growing on you. _

Lily had to agree with that. Ever since she had screamed at James for being an 'insufferable, pig-headed prat' he seemed to back off a bit. He no longer tormented Lily to go out with him every five minutes, or participated in publicly humiliating Severus Snape.

Lily frowned at the thought of Snape, and reminisced back to a few days before sixth year ended.

_Lily sat in the Gryffindor common room at one of the round table, doing her homework. It was very late at night, and not a soul was in sight. All of the sudden, Lily heard James's unmistakable, booming voice. "You did WHAT?" _

_She hadn't heard him use that tone for a while now, since she had reprimanded him in front of the whole school. She looked up curiously, and saw him sprinting down the stairs from the boys' dormitories, Sirius hot on his tail. _

_"James, wait!" Sirius yelled after his best friend. Neither of them had noticed Lily sitting there, wide eyed. _

_James spun around and glared at his best friend. His face was hard, and cold. "How could you do this Sirius?" he shouted. Lily cringed and discreetly cast a charm around the room, so they wouldn't wake up the other students. "Didn't you even think what this would do to Remus?"_

_Sirius's face crumpled, and he looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry, James, I wasn't thinking," he admitted._

"_Obviously not," James snarled, wearing a deadly look on his face. "This isn't some prank, Sirius! We are talking about someone's life here. You may hate Snape, I do, too, but Moony would never forgive us if he accidentally killed him." And with that, he turned on his heel and ran out of the common room, swearing the entire way._

_Sirius stood there for a minute, dumbstruck, before he cussed loudly, and tore off after James, kicking something along the way. Lily waited for a while, and then crept out the portrait hole to find them. From one of the windows on the second floor, she could see James running towards the frozen Whomping Willow and Sirius close behind him. There was also another figure standing at the base of the tree. Suddenly they both disappeared. _

_Lily gasped and flew down the last staircase, taking the steps two at a time. She barely slowed to push open the doors of the castle and dashed down the steps. Sirius saw her and grabbed her arm to prevent her from following James and Snape. Lily thrashed against his arms, begging him to let her go after them._

_There was a loud howling coming from somewhere very near. Sirius looked very panicked, and nervous. Lily froze. "What was that?" she asked, frightened._

_Sirius, hearing or seeing something that she did not, turned to her, and said in a low voice, "Lily, you have to get out of here. I need you to go back into the castle." There was another growl, and a pained yelp. "Now!" Sirius screamed. He let her go, and ran towards the tree, ignoring Lily's protests. _

_Lily knew it took something very dangerous to make Sirius Black act like that, so she took his advice, and ran back to the castle. From the second story window she had peered out before, she was able to watch the event unfold. _

_She watched as a huge, black dog took Sirius's place, and slid out of sight. Lily held her breath until Snape, James, and Sirius remerged. She breathed a sigh of relief, but that quickly turned to a gasp of horror when they walked into a beam of light put off by the full moon. _

_Lily could tell he was limping badly, and he was covered in blood. Snape looked even paler than usual, and Sirius looked utterly ashamed of himself. Lily wondered where Remus was, and then something dawned on her. _'Did you even think about what this would do to Remus…Moony would never forgive you if he accidentally killed him.'

_She gasped. Lily fled to her dorm. Remus couldn't be a werewolf. He couldn't. He was too nice, and harmless. Lily cried herself to sleep that night, just imagining what Remus had to go through. _

A loud pop shook Lily out of her reverie. She quickly adjusted her skirt, and pulled her hair up into a loose bun on the top of her head. After checking her appearance in the mirror, she bounded down the steps and flung the front door out of her way.

"Lily!" Alice and Camey squealed and threw their arms around their best friend. "We've missed you! Oh, I have so much to tell you…"

Alice was small, about 5'4", and thin, but was very fit and toned from playing Quidditch. She had shoulder length, dark brown hair, and striking blue eyes. That was her favorite feature. People always loved her deep blue eyes. You could get lost in them so easily. Alice was pretty, but not near as pretty as Camellia.

Camey, as they liked to call her, was blessed with a tall, athletic figure, and gorgeous face. She had waist-length blonde hair, and celery green eyes. Long, thick eyelashes framed her eyes nicely, and her perfect, full lips nearly always wore a smile, completing the picture. Like Alice, she was very outgoing, and had a bubbly personality, but she had a terrible habit of flirting with every decent-looking boy that passes. Not that those boys ever really minded. Especially not Sirius Black. Even though she loved to flirt, she never actually had a boyfriend. Mostly she just had snogging partners.

Lily and Alice found her habits highly amusing and she usually provided them with laughter for the rest of the day. They were already laughing at her tales as they made their way to an alley where it would be safe to Apparate.

Lily found herself anticipating her seventh year at Hogwarts more than ever.

A/N: So? What do y'all think? Should I continue with this or forget about it and move onto something bigger and better? I really want to know what you think, so just click that rectangular button down there and type 'stop' or 'go' along with anything else you want to say. Thanks so much!

~Livelier~


	2. Frienemies

_A/N: Here's the next chapter of my newest fic. For those of you who are wondering when the bet is going to come up, you'll have to wait until the fourth chapter. I need to flush out the characters and relationships a bit more before I introduce The Bet. Originally, I planned on this being about ten or twelve chapters, but now I think it will be more like 15 or 17...some where in that general range. But I'm going to need a lot more REVIEWS if you all want me to continue. So, keep that in mind. R&R. Emphasis on the second 'R'._

_Disclaimer: I'm running out of funny, clever ways to say I don't own anything, and I'm not JKR._

"Bye, mum! Bye, dad! I promise I'll write! Love you!" Lily called to her parents as she made her way through the throngs of people on Platform 9 ¾ to board the Hogwarts Express for one of the last times in her life.

Alice and Camey were already on the train, and waiting for her in their usual compartment. They greeted each other excitedly, even though they had just been together two days ago. Lily stowed her things, and sat down next to Alice.

"In a few minutes I have to go to the Prefect compartment to lead a meeting. I wonder who the Head Boy is?" Lily mused out loud. She narrowed her eyes when Alice and Camey exchanged glances. "You know?" Her best friends both nodded, and pursed their lips. "Why haven't you told me?"

Alice frowned. "We're sorry, Lily, we wish we could, but Sirius made us swear not to tell you. He wanted it to be a surprise."

Lily gaped at her best friend. Did she just say Sirius? "Sirius Black is Head Boy?" Lily shrieked, standing up.

Alice and Camey both laughed at this and shook their heads. "Oh, Merlin, no! Dumbledore may be a bit off but he's not _completely _bonkers!" Camey exclaimed, clutching her sides, trying to hold in her laughter.

Lily grimaced. "So it's bad? Maybe I should go turn in my badge right away…" Lily said, uncertainly.

They both shot out of their seats, and simultaneously yelled, "No!" Lily eyed them with shrewd speculation. Camey recovered first. "What we mean is—you don't want to do that. You've wanted this ever since you found out about it! You finally achieved your goal, and you're not going let someone ruin this!"

Alice gave her a look and pulled Lily away from the door. "I don't think you'll actually have a big problem with the Head Boy once you get used to it. Dumbledore wouldn't put two people together that he knew wouldn't work well together. He always has his reasons, Dumbledore does," Alice soothed her. Camey nodded her agreement.

Lily checked her watch quickly and stood again. "Well, it looks like I'm about to find out anyway. Wish me luck," she said and slid the compartment door open.

"Luck," Alice and Camey said together. Lily rolled her eyes and disappeared out the door. She quickly found the Prefect compartment, as she had been visiting it for two years now, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

"Hey, Lily," a deep voice greeted her. She popped one eye open, and groaned. James Potter said in one of the chairs around the table, looking casually handsome—_Whoa, we're talking about Potter. He's not handsome; he's an annoying git. _

_We've already had this conversation and you agreed that he is not a git, but decent,_ Lily's reasonable voice argued. She sighed and opened her other eye. "Hello…James. I, er, got your letter," Lily replied as she took a seat next to him.

James straightened up in his chair a little bit, and looked at her warily. "You did? I wasn't going to send that, but Sirius kind of did it for me. Sorry about that," he muttered looking at his hands. Lily did a double take. Did James Potter just apologize?

"Actually, I found it kind of funny," she corrected him with a soft smile. James stared at her, wondering where the screaming and hexing was. Lily blushed and looked down from his gaze. "And you were right. I was thinking I should use the jelly-legs jinx on him as soon as school started." James and Lily both laughed for a moment, but when they stopped, an awkward silence ensued.

"So, er, what do we do now?" James asked nervously. Lily looked at him in shock. James Potter was nervous. There are two new things in one hour. Maybe this is what Sirius meant. "I've never really done this before. I mean, I wasn't even a Prefect! I don't know why Dumbledore chose me…I have the second most detentions in Hogwarts history!" James exclaimed.

Lily surprised herself by placing a comforting hand on his arm. "I'm sure there was a reason he chose you. Just follow my lead and you'll do fine," she soothed him. James looked over and caught her eye. They stared into each other's eyes for a while, and Lily's hand began to tingle a bit on his arm. Lily blinked, and removed her hand slowly. It took every once of will power James possessed to purse his lips and refrain from kissing her right then. _Get a hold on yourself_, James commanded silently. _We've got this all worked out. Just be patient. _"Wait, you count your detentions?" Lily asked incredulously.

James chuckled a bit and ran his hand through his hair. "No, that's Sirius. He just brags about how he's ahead of me all the time." They both laughed a bit before another awkward silence ensued.

Just about that time, the others Prefects entered the room. Some of the groaned openly when they saw Potter sitting there, but not because they thought he was Head Boy. "You couldn't wait thirty minutes before you had to ask her out, could you, Potter?" Amos Diggory asked rudely. Lily's cheeks colored at his words.

James was about to make a smart comeback, but Lily stood up and glared at Amos. "That is no way to talk to your Head Boy, Diggory," Lily said coolly. He staggered back a bit, his eyes wide; shocked that Lily was defending Potter. Several of the other Prefects, including James, were giving her similar looks. "Take your seats," the Head Girl commanded impatiently.

James stood up and touched her shoulder. "Maybe I should get this one, Evans," he suggested quietly. Lily turned her glare on him, and he met it calmly, unaffected.

"I am perfectly capable of handling this myself, thanks," she snapped. "Now watch and learn, Potter." She turned to the sitting Prefects and tried to get their attention. "Excuse me, could I have your attention, please?" The chatting continued.

"Oi! Shut it!" James hollered at the students. When Lily turned to look—no, glower—at him, and he tried desperately to wipe the smug smirk off him face, but she could see the traces of it tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Welcome back, I am your Head Girl and this," she waved her hand towards James, "is your Head Boy, James Potter. If you ever need anything, feel free to come to us during the year. Most of you are familiar with the jobs of Prefects, but just in case, your duty is to help us patrol the hallways at night, and turn in those students who are roaming the halls past their curfew. You are able to dock up to ten house points, but you must use that privilege _responsibly_, and I don't care if they are your friends or not." She looked pointedly at James, who gazed back innocently. "Is that clear?"

There were a few murmurs of reply. She heard someone mutter "crystal" quite sarcastically, and Lily pinpointed the source to be Lucius Malfoy, a seventh year Slytherin.

Lily sat down, and James stood. "Thank you, Lily, for that kind welcome," James began. A series of titters passed through the crowd before James cleared his throat again. Lily grimaced at his ability to silence a crowd without troubles. "As Lily said, I'm James Potter, and I have the honor of being your Head Boy this school year. If any of you ever need any help at all, I'm always available to you. Well, almost always," he added with a wink. The students laughed again, more openly this time, grateful for their Head Boy's sense of humor. Lily pressed her lips together in a tight line. James caught sight of Lily's expression and decided to rein it in a bit. "Well, I think Lily covered pretty much all of it… Oh, yes, one more thing. You are expected to set a good example. This means you need to put good effort into your school work and make a good impression on the younger ones. And if you _ever_ disrespect Lily or I, be certain that McGonnagal will be hearing about it." Lily blinked, shocked. She hadn't expected him to include Lily in his threat, and she definitely didn't think his solution would be McGonnagal. Last year, he probably would have said, 'you'll have me to answer to' or something similar. As if reading her mind, James quickly tacked on, "Unless you would rather deal with me." He looked pointedly at Malfoy and the other Slytherins.

Lily rolled her eyes and stood up once again. "Thank you all for coming. You may return to your compartments now." There were many sighs of relief, and the cabin was empty in less than a minute. Once everyone was gone, she turned to James. "What the hell do you think your doing?" she demanded.

James looked thoroughly confused, so he quirked a single eyebrow. "I'm sorry? I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean," he replied slowly, eyeing her.

Lily flipped her hair impatiently and crossed her arms. "Why were you acting so responsible? You're a Marauder for Merlin's sake!" she cried.

James sighed and sat down at the table again. Lily followed when he motioned for her to do the same. "Look, Lily, when I got my badge, I was forced to do a little thinking." Lily snorted and rolled her eyes again, ignoring James's glare. "I had no idea why Dumbledore would choose me for this, when I was the opposite of what a Head Boy should be. But he always has his reasons, so, I figured I didn't want to make him regret his decision." James shrugged, and looked down at his hands. It felt strange telling Lily this—their only conversations involved yelling and a lot of name calling—when he hadn't even told Sirius, his best mate.

Lily looked totally shocked with this bit of information; she stared at him blankly, her mouth hanging open, gawking at him. James waved a hand back and forth in front of her face, and she quickly snapped out of it. "Oh, sorry," she muttered, still deep in thought. They sat quietly for a few moments, before Lily sighed loudly. "Listen…James. We're Head Boy and Girl, and, like you said, we need to set a good example. We can't have the other students and Prefects listening to us argue all the time. So…I'm willing to put aside are differences if you are," Lily said trying to ignore her brain screaming at her.

James tried to keep a nonchalant look on his face, but was failing miserably. "I—well, you—I'm…" He scratched his head thoughtfully, trying to assemble his jumbled thoughts. Finally he settled with "What?"

Lily laughed airily and shook his head. "Oh, you know what I said!" she said, slapping his arm playfully. She froze when she realized what she was doing, but he just grinned at her, and stomach flip-flopped a bit.

James nodded. "Yes, I do, and I would love to be non-enemies," he accepted, extending his hand.

Lily shook his hand, smiling. "Frienemies," she agreed. He raised an eyebrow again, so she thought it would be necessary to explain. "Friends and enemies mixed together."

James smiled at that, thinking to himself, _Frienemies. Things are going much better than planned. Maybe this wont be so hard after all…_

_A/N: So, there you have it. Chapter two. I'm going to make this very simple for you guys. Now, I don't want to resort to force, so I'm going to ask nicely...at first. If you want quick updates, you need to review. Please. It makes me feel like crap when no one reviews a story that I spend a lot of time working on. I mean, honestly, with the amount of people who add me to their alert list and favorites, you would think I would have at least a hundred reviews. But, no. Anywho, please, please, please review. I might go crazy if you dont. Thanks for reading._

_~A girl desperate for some reviews (aka Livelier)~_


	3. Never Have I Ever

_A/N:_ _It's not like anyone even reads these things, so I'm going to keep this short. Here's the third chapter. Hope you enjoy it. R&R. Thanks!_

_Disclaimer: I solemnly swear I don't own anything you recognize. Mischeif Managed. (Yes, I know, I already used this one, but it's all I can think of!)_

Lily and James were the topic of much gossip for the next few weeks. Everyone at Hogwarts was wondering the same thing: where was the yelling, and hexing? Before, not a week would pass when Lily didn't do something to James to cause him to end up in the Hospital wing. And now they were friends? That seemed too hard to believe, so, naturally, the student body came up with two explanations. The first, which James and Lily shot vehemently, was that they were dating. Two, James slipped some sort of potion into her pumpkin juice when she wasn't looking.

The most shocked of anyone were their friends. Camey and Alice were mystified at how fast they turned from hating each other, to spending a lot of their time together. Lily claimed that they were lumped together mostly because of their Head duties, but could not deny the fact that she didn't entirely mind. James's mates, Sirius, Remus, and Peter, were all pleasantly surprised at the positive turn of events. They congratulated James profusely, and snuck to Hogsmeade to celebrate the news.

"Lily, I'm bored!" James whined to the Head Girl while patrolling the hallways late at night about one month into the term.

Lily rolled her eyes and moved to open a broom cupboard. "Why are you telling me?" The cupboard was empty.

James frowned. "Because you're the only one here," he pointed out. She nodded, and continued checking closets and classrooms. "Let's play Never Have I Ever," James suggested.

Lily raised her eyebrows but didn't say anything. "Alright," she agreed raising both hands, and stretching her fingers out. "I'll start. Never have I ever…snuck out of your house." Both of their fingers curled down.

James smiled and added to their little game. "Never have I ever broken a rule," he said, lowering his finger automatically. To his surprise, her second finger inched slowly downward. "Would you like to explain, Miss. Evans?"

Lily grimaced, and scrunched up her face. "I couldn't sleep one night in sixth year, so I snuck down to the owlery and sent my parents a letter at about two in the morning. Filch caught me, and I got one detention." Lily frowned as if she had committed a felony punishable by a life sentence in Azkaban, and James laughed loudly at her.

"Are you serious?" he asked her incredulously. "That's the worst thing you've ever done?" He chuckled again.

Lily glared at him, and spoke through gritted teeth. "Moving on…" she prompted. "Never have I ever snogged anyone." Lily proudly kept her finger high in the air, while she watched James drop his down.

"Seriously? You've never kissed anyone?" James asked doubtfully. Lily just shook her head, grinning. "Why?" he demanded, acting like that was the most ridiculous he'd ever heard of.

Lily snickered, and rolled her eyes. "You make it sound like a crime." He cocked his eyebrow, expecting an answer to his question. She just shrugged. "I've never really felt like it. I mean, normally when you kiss somebody, it's an expression of feelings. All the blokes I've ever gone out with…there was just nothing there. Most of my relationships never lasted more than a week at most," Lily explained, shrugging again.

James stared, open-mouthed at her. She just described all of his "relationships", with the one exception of snogging. That's all he and his girlfriends ever did. He quickly snapped his mouth shut and went on as if they had never entered this dangerous topic. "Never have I ever—Sirius?!" James exclaimed as he pulled open the door to a crowded broom closet.

Sirius Black and Dorcas Meadows stepped out of the shadows of the closet, looking disheveled and breathing heavily. They both seemed unabashed. "Hey, Lily, Potter," Dorcas greeted them casually. Dorcas was a seventh year Gryffindor, and was basically the female version of Sirius. By the end of first year, people learned not to mess with Dorcas unless they wanted to end up in the Hospital Wing for a week. She was exceedingly smart, but, like Sirius, preferred to spend her time goofing off, and back-talking the professors. She shared the room next door to Lily with Emmeline Vance, and Marlene McKinnon. The six girls made up the female Marauders.

"Good evening, Dorcas," Lily replied loftily, raising her eyebrows questioningly at her friend. Dorcas just grinned at her, not in the least bit embarrassed. "Alright, I'm just going to pretend I didn't see anything. Not that I'm not used to it by now," Lily teased. "Back to your common rooms."

James swatted the back of Sirius's head as they walked past them. Lily just rolled her eyes at the pair, and continued walking, checking behind tapestries and in hidden corridors. "So where we?" James asked, picking up their game of Never Have I Ever. "Oh, right. Er, never have I ever…been in love."

Lily kept her finger in the air, tiring of the childish game, but her interest was rekindled when she saw James's finger drop. He cringed when he saw her disbelieving expression, and quickly regretted bringing the subject up unnecessarily. "Who?" she inquired, trying desperately to keep her voice casual. Lily couldn't help but feel a bit depressed at the thought of him loving some other girl. _Maybe he's finally moved on_, Lily thought, and she noticed the dejected tone of her thoughts.

James shifted nervously and checked behind a door, attempting to hide his face from her. "I think you know," he muttered to himself. Luckily, she didn't hear him, and nudged him in the ribs, prompting an answer. "That's, er…personal information," James stammered.

Lily rolled her eyes and dropped her hands. "Fine, don't tell me. But I'll find out soon enough," she assured him, scrunching up her face. "Come on, let's go back to the common room."

After a few moments of silence, James worked up the courage to ask Lily a question he'd been wondering for a long time. "Lily, can I ask you something?" James began cautiously. _Or maybe he hasn't_, she corrected herself mentally. Before she could get the wrong idea, he hastily added, "And I'm not asking you out!"

_Bugger—What? No! Not bugger! That's a good thing! You hate it when he asks you out. You can't stand him_, Lily reprimanded herself. _No, you don't. Not anymore. You like the way he says your name now, and you find the way he runs his hand through his hair endearing. Face it, Lily Evans fancies James Potter_, her voice of reason argued. "Sure, James. Go ahead," Lily answered, ignoring her internal battles.

James smiled at her, and reached up to tousle his hair, but thought better of it when he remembered what usually happened when he did that. "Okay, well, I have been wanting to ask you this since fifth year, but we weren't exactly on speaking terms then… So, I thought, why not ask now? Anyway, here goes." James took a deep breath after his rambling, and exhaled it with a rush of words. "DoyoufancySniv—Snape?"

Lily surprised him by laughing. No, not just laughing, but laughing so hard she was doubled over and clutching her side. James chuckled nervously, and was unable to stop his hand from combing through his messy hair this time. "Merlin, James! Why on earth would you ask that?" she managed after calming down enough to actually breathe.

"Er, well, you were always sticking up for the—him, and I didn't know why, so I just jumped to the conclusion that you like him," James explained quickly, fiercely glad that she didn't fancy the slimy git.

Lily patted his arm gently, and smiled at him. "No, James, I don't fancy Snape," she reassured him. "Do you remember when we were first years? On the train to school?"

James nodded, wondering where she was going with this. "Yeah, sure. I was sitting with Sirius when you two entered, and Snape mentioned he wanted to be in Slytherin, so, naturally, I spoke up, and then Sirius got talking about his family… That's all I remember really," James reminisced.

Lily cringed. "You see, Snape and I used to be friends. Best friends, actually. But when we were put into different houses, we slowly drifted apart. We got in a lot of fights because I didn't like the people he was hanging out with, and it all just…broke when he called me a 'mudblood' down at the lake that one time." James closed his eyes, and his hands balled up into fists. Lily peered up at him and noted that his face was impassive, and his back was rigid. "So, that's why I defend him. I can't say I don't care about him anymore, I do, but we went our separate ways, so I have to deal with that. Plus, it's a lot easier with out him always nagging me about you and your friends."

James decided it would be best not to press the matter anymore, and instead gave the password to the Fat Lady. They entered the deserted common room, and James walked her to the foot of the girls' staircase. To his surprise, Lily reached up and kissed his cheek. "Good night, James."

He stared wide-eyed after her, and, once she was gone, he broke into song and dance. "Lily Evans kissed me, Lily Evans kissed me. Oh, oh, oh yeah. She kissed me, she really, really kissed me," James chanted over and over, doing a little jig. Little did he know, half the house could hear him, and Lily was currently upstairs banging her head against a wall. Something was changing, and none of the Gryffindors could figure out if that was a good or bad thing.

_A/N: Yup. A little shorter than the last few chapters. A lot shorter actually. But, who cares? Thanks for reading! Review please! _

_Always, Livelier_


	4. The Bet

_A/N: Greetings! Long time no see, huh? I just took a very short, but much needed vacation this weekend (got to skip a day of school, too!) and spent three days at Schweitzer Mountain Resort. I'm a big ski bum, so that was really fun for me, even though it probably sounds like torture to a lot of other people. Most people don't particularly enjoy three days of constant snow and fog. I'm completely worn out now. 11 black diamonds in two days can do that sort of thing to you. I'm rambling right now, so I'm going to get to the point. _

_Very short chapter this week, I really am sorry about that. It's just explaining the details of the bet mentioned in the summary. And you get a better, albeit brief, look at life in the boys' dormitories. Plus, Sirius never fails to make me smile. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Thanks to everyone who is reviewing! R&R._

_Disclaimer: There are two things I am deprived of: millions and millions of dollars, and a British accent. Does that prove I'm not JKR? _

"So, Prongs, I haven't seen that number move for months. Better get a move on, mate, or you'll be handing over 50 galleons," Sirius said, flopping down on his bed and gesturing to the number in blazing red above James's bed.

James grimaced and tossed the book he had been reading at his best mate. "Don't remind me," he muttered, but he couldn't keep the memory from flooding his brain.

(A/N: this part picks up where Snape's memory of first year in DH left off) _After Lily and Snape left the compartment, James turned to Sirius and pointed after the small, redheaded girl, and tugged on his new friend's sleeve. "Sirius, did you _see_ her?" he whispered in awe. He was sure he hadn't seen a prettier girl that was his age. _

_Sirius grinned knowingly at his friend, and waved his hand towards the door. "Then go ask her out," he suggested nonchalantly. _

_James's eyes widened dramatically, and he looked to the door, itching to go find the pretty girl. "You reckon I should?" Sirius dragged James out of his seat, and shoved him towards the door. James pulled on his robes nervously, and swallowed. "Here we go…" he muttered, before striding after her. _

_Five minutes later, James reentered the compartment, to find two new occupants sitting with Sirius. "What did she say?" Sirius asked eagerly, brushing the long black hair off his face. His dark gray eyes sparkled with excitement._

_A puzzled look crossed James's face, and his brow knitted together. "She told me to shove it up my arse…and then she slapped me," he said, rubbing his cheek, where a faint red mark could be seen. _

"_Bloody hell," Sirius replied, chuckling a bit. "Feisty one, she is. Oh, James, this is Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, by the way."_

_The four boys entered their dorm and threw themselves on the huge, four-poster beds, too exhausted to unpack yet. James had, unsuccessfully, asked Lily out a second time, and received a less than polite answer again. He would have bruises the next morning. "I bet you would have to ask her out a thousand times before she ever says yes," Sirius mumbled from across the room._

_James's eyes sparked in indignation and he bolted upright. "No way!" he disagreed. "Five hundred at the most! No one can resist the famous Potter Charm."_

_Remus snorted quietly from behind his bed and muttered, "I think she's done more than resist it, mate."_

"_Wanna bet?" Sirius asked mischievously, holding out his right hand. "50 galleons says that by seventh year, she'll say yes after a thousand times."_

"_You're on!" And James took his best mate's hand firmly._

James glanced up at the fiery numbers—Remus charmed them so it automatically went up every time James asked her to come to Hogsmeade with him, and when she finally says yes, the numbers will flash blue, and start singing a song—and groaned. 493 times he had asked her out, and all of those times resulted in bruises, boils covering his face, or green skin. Over the summer, James had thought a lot about the things Lily had said to him in the past, and he, along with Sirius and Remus, devised a plan.

"How's Operation Get Lily to Fall Madly in Love with James coming along?" Sirius asked, trying to change the subject to less painful avenues. But that wasn't too easy since the conversation in the Marauders' dorm mostly revolved around Lily, Quidditch, and pranks. The two had just gotten back from practice, and at 8 pm, they had detention for hexing some of the Slytherins to dance and sing Muggle songs, so Lily was really their only topic of discussion.

"I don't know if I can do it anymore, Padfoot," James announced, ignoring Sirius's question. "She'll never say yes to me! And if she does, she's bound to find out about the bet, and then she'll curse me even more than usual!" he cried.

"But you're friends now," Sirius reminded him.

"Frienimies," James corrected dryly, and quickly had to dodge a flying shoe that was aimed at his head.

"Shut up, Prongs. Anyway, since you're friends now, you just have to be yourself around her, not that arrogant git that she _thinks_ is you. And _BAM_, she'll fall harder than she would if a bludger knocked her off a broom 100 feet in the air." Sirius smirked proudly, and modeled his theory to him. He held one hand in the air, and smacked his fist into it. Then he let the hand drop, and did an impersonation of Lily screaming as the hand sliced through the air, and hit the bedside table with a thud.

James grimaced, and threw a disbelieving look at his deranged best mate. "Did you honestly think that would help anything at all?" Sirius cocked his head to the side, not knowing what he was getting at. James sighed, and stood up. "You know what? I'm not even going to try to understand the way your brain works. Come on, it's time for detention with McGonnagal."

Sirius sprang up and bounded towards the door exclaiming, "Here we come, Minnie!" James followed, shaking his head, and grabbing both his wand and the one Sirius left on the table, and the invisibility cloak. _What would he do without me?_

_A/N: Like I said, uber short, but I hope that covers enough of the details about the bet to hold you over until the next post. On my last multi-chapter fic, I felt I was going a bit too fast--James and Lily were together by the third chapter, which isnt realistic--so, I'm moving a bit slower, and, though they are going to get together, it's going to be later. So there's no need to worry! Thanks for reading! Please REVIEW!!_

_'Til next time,_

_Livelier_


	5. Full Moons and Ice Cream Sundaes

_A/N: I'm going to keep this relatively short today. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last few chapters! I really enjoyed reading all of the feedback. Here's a pretty long chapter for you all. Hope you like it. R&R. Thanks!_

_Disclaimer: All the characters and ideas you recognize belong to the lovely Joanne Rowling (JKR), who, unfortunately, I am not._

Chapter 5:

Lily bustled into the full room, ignoring all the stares from her fellow Prefects. James was standing up at the head of the table, in the middle of reciting a checklist to the other students. "Sorry I'm late," Lily muttered to James as she sifted through her folder of papers. She finally pulled out a crinkled piece of parchment.

James just shook his head. "You're fine. I just went over the welcoming and their jobs as Prefects," he whispered back. People were staring openly now, mouths gaping open and James glared back at them.

Lily breathed a sigh. "Thanks, James. You're a lifesaver. I'll take it from here." He nodded, and took his seat. Lily turned to face the students and cleared her throat. "Like James said, welcome back to Hogwarts. This year, you'll be expected to patrol the hallways every night. You can sign up for your preferred nights on this sheet"—she holds up a clipboard with a calendar attached—"after the meeting. You need to sign up for at least one day a week. James and I will always patrol together. Is that clear?"

Most of the Prefects murmured their agreement while a few Slytherins grumbled something that made James glower at them. "Very well, then. Moving on…" Lily shuffled around, trying to find another note sheet. James smoothly handed her his notes. "Thank you, James," she said, scanning the parchment. Suddenly she smiled and looked up at the group. "Dumbledore has requested that we organize a ball for sometime this year. Our Christmas ball last year didn't turn out so well, so we will not be having another at that time. Does anyone have any suggestions?"

When nobody raised his or her hands, James stood up next to her. "Perhaps we should have a Halloween dance. It's not as serious or formal as Christmas or Valentines would be, which is good considering the times…" James trailed off, looking towards Lily for her approval.

She beamed proudly at him and nodded her head vigorously. "I think that's a great idea, James!" she exclaimed, clasping her hands together happily.

"That's only because he said it," Amos Diggory muttered bitterly, scowling at the Head Boy.

"Got a problem with that, Diggory?" Lily retorted. She blushed beet red when she realized what she said. She averted her eyes down to her folder, trying to ignore James's probing eyes, and the tingly feeling she felt when his eyes caught hers.

"Alright, meeting dismissed. Don't forget to sign up for patrol—the calendar will be on the back table. See you all next Tuesday at the same time," James said, shooing them away.

Lily purposefully dropped her quill and ducked under the table to get it. _Dear God, please make him leave_, she thought, gathering her book bag and papers. No such luck. James crouched down to peer under the table. "Need help?" he asked innocently, commanding his face not to form into that smirk she hates so much.

Lily snatched her quill and stuffed it into her bag. "No, thank you. I just, er, hit my head…on the table," she said, grimacing at her weak improvisation. James nodded slowly, clearly not buying her story. "Anyway, I'll just be…I need to get back to the common room. Goodnight."

She grabbed her bag and hastily stood up. Something warm caught her hand, and held her there. "Would you care to join me on an excursion to the kitchens?" James asked boldly, mentally tabulating his chances of getting away unscathed. He had to admit, they weren't good, even adding in their friendlier terms.

Lily's eyes widened a bit. This was the closest he had come to asking her on a date in months, and a part of Lily rejoiced. This time, she didn't even try to battle the fluttery feelings in her stomach; she welcomed them. "Er, well, I had a large dinner, so I think I'll just be going…"

James rolled his eyes and dragged Lily out the door, much to her protests. "You weren't at dinner, Lils. You can't possible tell me you're not hungry," he argued, pulling her by the hand to the portrait of the fruit bowl.

In truth, Lily was starving. Her stomach rumbled, as if to emphasis this. James heard this and smirked triumphantly. He dropped her hand and tickled the pear. Lily watched with an amused expression, and then burst out laughing when the pear giggled.

"Good evening Mister James, and Mister James's companion. What can I get for you?" a small, wrinkled house elf asked. Lily smiled warmly down at her, though she was feeling far from at ease with the unusual creature.

"I'll have an ice cream sundae, Tiki. No nuts. Lily?" James turned to her, expecting her order. The house elf, Tiki, turned to her as well.

"Oh, may I have the same as James, please?" The house elf bowed to the pair and hurried off to make their sundaes. James led her over to a round table in the far corner. "How did you find this place?" Lily asked in amazement, looking around at the massive kitchen and the peculiar creatures that filled it.

James chuckled a bit and took a drink from the water glass that sat in front of him. "I'm a Marauder, Lily," he explained. "Anything's possible for us. And we don't get caught doing it."

Lily shook her head, and placed her hand to his forehead. "Have you gone absolutely barmy? You have detention almost every day of the week!"

He smirked—though it lacked its usual condescending edge, she noticed—and tutted at her. "Lily, Lily, Lily. You should know by now that we only get caught a fourth of the time. McGonnagal would have a heart attack if she knew just what we get up to during the night."

Lily leaned forward and rested her chin in her hands. "All right, then," she said, allowing this. "Tell me how you all get away with it."

James immediately went wide-eyed, and swallowed nervously. He wanted to tell her. And they were friends—frienemies—now, but Sirius would murder him if he found out. He shook his head slightly, mostly to himself, but his pained expression didn't escape Lily's notice. "I swear I wouldn't tell a soul," she whispered seductively. Batting her eyelashes, she gave him her most alluring smile.

James grimaced, knowing exactly what she was doing. "You don't fight fair," he muttered. Lily grinned and started to say something else, but Tiki appeared next to them, and placed their ice cream sundaes on the table. She left after bowing deeply to the pair. James began shoveling the ice cream in as fast as he could, while Lily took dainty little bits and savored the taste.

"Don't choke," Lily said sarcastically, watching in disgust. James looked up, and she attempted to stifle a giggle. "You've a got a bit of…" She reached over with her napkin to wipe off the chocolate syrup that covered his upper lips and corners of his mouth. They locked eyes for a long moment, before Lily slowly retracted her hand, blushing furiously. For once, James didn't wear his signature smirk, for which Lily was grateful.

"Well, that was good," James announced, pushing his bowl away from him. As if called, Tiki approached the table and took his bowl, and bustled away.

"Did you even taste that?" Lily inquired incredulously, eyes wide.

James snorted and rolled his eyes, and straightened up in his chair. "Just eat, Lily." She did as he said, and after a few minutes of silence, she was done.

"So."

James raised his eyebrows. "So what?"

"Full moon is coming up," she said in an off-hand tone of voice, looking down. She frowned at the tablecloth, and began picking at the hem.

James froze. "What about it?" he asked, trying to keep the grimace off his face. It was like she knew just how to make him suffer.

She hid a smile when she noticed how his body tensed and his foot tapping stopped so abruptly. "I suppose you, Sirius, and Peter are accompanying him as usual?"

James's eyes widened, and he began spluttering incoherently. "But—what? How…when… What?!"

Lily chuckled and took a sip of water. "Last year," she answered. "When Sirius told Snape…well, you remember. I was in the common room while you two were arguing, and I followed after you two left. I take it Sirius didn't tell you?"

"No!"

Lily shrugged. "Well, I think what you do for Remus is very admirable. Merlin knows I would do the exact same thing if it were Alice of Camey in that position."

James grabbed her wrist abruptly and pulled her a bit closer to him, and fixed her eyes with an intense stare. "What did you see?" he demanded.

Lily tugged her wrist away, enjoying the pleasant tingles that had spread up her arm when he touched her. "I saw Sirius turn into…into Padfoot. And, well, I heard…Remus…growling and howling from somewhere beyond the tree," she whispered.

James closed his eyes and slumped back in his chair. "I'm sorry you had to see that," he murmured at last. "It's late. We should go back."

Lily nodded and stood up from the table, thanking the house elves absently. She was too preoccupied with the pained look on James's face.

They walked back to the Gryffindor common room in silence. At the foot of the girls' stairs, Lily kissed his cheek again, but James hardly noticed. He was fuming. Sirius was going to get it.

_A/N: There you have it. I've had a bit of a block on this part all week. That's why I wrote Sleepy Confessions--to stave off the block, but it's only this chapter for some reason! Anyway, thanks so much for reading! Please Review! And thank you to everyone who added this to their favorites or alert!!_

_With bunches of love,_

_Livelier (I just spelled my penname wrong! I'm hopeless sometimes. Thank God for the backspace key!)_


	6. Marauders' Meeting

_A/N: I don't know why I bother to write these. No one even reads them. Please enjoy. R&R. Thanks!_

_Disclaimer: I am, 1. not smart or creative enough to own Harry Potter, and, 2. I can't make up names to save my life. Seriously though, Dedulus Diggle? Only in my wildest, most far-fetched dreams am I that creative. _

Chapter 6:

James made his presence in the Marauders' dormitory known, slamming the door, and ripping the hangings back from around Sirius's bed. "Hiya, Prongsie!" Sirius greeted cheerfully. Then he caught the black look on his face. Uh-oh. "What's wrong?" he asked cautiously, sitting up, and tossing his magazine aside. A very pretty, blonde witch was batting her eyelashes and winking on the cover.

"Oh, nothing of consequence really, I was just wondering when you were planning to tell me that Lily knows about us!" James hissed.

Sirius took a step back, and held up his hands, wide-eyed. "Whoa, relax there, mate."

"I—will—not—relax!"

Sirius took a step forward and slapped James across the face. "Snap out of it, James."

"Ow! —What the hell was that for?" James demanded, rubbing his cheek and plunking down on his own bed.

Sirius just shrugged and sat next to his best mate. "Dunno. It worked though, didn't it?"

James just responded by glaring at Sirius. "Now, would you care to tell me what happened, and how Lily knows about us?"

Sirius fidgeted and moved off the bed, patting his pocket to check if his wand was still there. Of course James would never actually _hurt_ Sirius, but he was a bit…overprotective when it came to Lily, and he didn't know how he would take this. "Where to start…"

"How about the beginning," James suggested, trying very hard to sound casual.

Sirius cringed but launched into the tale, keeping his hand very close to his wand… A few times, Sirius had to stop and put a hand on James' shoulder to calm him. Halfway through, he stood and started pacing back and forth across the floor in front of Sirius. It would have all been quite amusing to Sirius, had he not been a bit frightened of his reaction. When he was finished, James groaned, and flopped down on the bed, burying his head in the plush pillow.  
"This is all my fault," he grumbled.

Sirius rolled his eyes and sat on James' legs, ignoring his protests of 'get of, you big arse!' and said, "Well, I can't see how you made that jump, but sure."

James promptly kicked him off. "If I hadn't been so careless, she would never have known, and we wouldn't be in this position," he continued, while Sirius asked himself, _what position?_ Suddenly, James stood up, one finger raised in the air. "Aha! But she followed therefore she cares what happens to me! Which means she fancies me!"

Sirius stared, bemused, at his crazy best mate. _Really, the workings of that boy's mind are beyond incomprehensive. Whoa, I just used a…fifteen-letter word! Brilliant!_

"Lily Evans fancies me. Lily Evans fancies me. She loves me, she wants to kiss me!" James chanted dancing around the room for the second time that week.

At this point, Remus and Peter walked into the room to find a dancing and singing James, and a proud, beaming Sirius who was holding up one foot and two hands.

"Er, maybe we should go back to the library…" Remus proposed, backing slowly out of the room with Peter following.

"Wait!" James hollered suddenly, and he stopped dancing abruptly. Remus and Peter both froze in the doorway. James whipped around to face Sirius. "I presume you haven't told anyone else about this?"

"Er…James, maybe this isn't the best idea…"

James turned back around and smiled warmly at Remus. "Have a seat, Moony. Padfoot has something he'd like to share."

"Lily?" a quiet voice asked.

She looked up from her book and noticed Remus standing in front of her. "Hullo, Remus," Lily said, marking her page with a bookmark and setting it to the side.

"Would you care to join us in our dorm for a few minutes?" he inquired politely, giving her a small, reassuring smile.

"Us?"

"The boys and I. It's about my, er, illness," Remus added in a rough whisper.

Lily smiled kindly at the werewolf. "Of course, Remus. Just let me put my things upstairs, and I'll meet you up there."

Lily dashed quickly up the stairs to her own dorm, and stowed her book under her pillow. She glanced in the mirror and struggled to fix her hair. She froze when she realized what she was doing. _Freshening up for Potter, eh?_ Lily shook her head as if trying to exile the thoughts from her head.

When she entered the Marauders' room, she was surprised at the somber atmosphere. Where was the laughing, and teasing? Four pairs of eyes stared intently at her, and she felt the smile slid off her face.

"What's the matter?" Lily asked, looking around frantically. Her eyes finally rested on James, and her stomach fluttered as he looked up at her from under his lashes with those smoldering hazel eyes. James patted the spot next to him on his bed, and Lily's feet carried her forward almost robotically. She didn't see Sirius glance up worriedly at the blank wall above James's bed—those pulsing blue numbers had been magically concealed, and, not fully trusting his handiness at charms, was watching anxiously to make sure his concealment charm would stay put. He locked eyes with James for a second, and nodded inconspicuously.

James looked away sharply when he felt the bed sink slightly when Lily sat down, and smiled half-heartedly. "Hey."

Lily prayed that no one could hear the hammering of her pulse that was so loud in her ear. "Hey," she replied breathlessly. James noticed, and pursed his lips to keep the smirk off his face.

Sirius cleared his throat, and straightened up. "Welcome, everyone, to the Marauders' meeting."

"What?" Lily demanded flatly.

James cringed, knowing that tone of voice. Sirius recognized it as well, but paid it no mind. "Surely you remember the…incident at the end of last year?" Sirius asked, looking towards Lily. She nodded, so he went on. "Right, well, since you now know about Remus and I, we reckon you should know the whole truth. James, would you care to take it away?"

"It would be my pleasure, Sirius," James answered smoothly.

Their detached, business-like attitudes would have been amusing, if Lily hadn't been so caught up in the fact that she was brushing shoulders with James Potter on his _bed_.

"Brace yourself," he muttered to her. One minute, she was watching James stand in front of her, and the next, a huge, white stag took his place.

She gasped.

The stag, graceful even in stillness, seemed to radiate a warm glow that surrounded its body like an aura. James's hazel eyes were copied exactly into the stag's face.

Even in animal form, he came across as proud, strong, and beautiful; it was enchanting.

Lily reached hesitantly out to stroke his silky fur, and he leaned in to nuzzle her hand affectionately. Sirius smirked knowingly at James, and his grin got even more pronounced as he watched Lily giggle and reprimand him.

"James!" she squealed as he prodded her with his horns, knocking her back onto the bed.

"Yes?"

Lily glanced up and saw James, back in his human form, hovering above her with his hands resting on either side of her head, pinning her to his bed. Before his delicious, musky scent could completely cloud her brain, she shoved him off of her—but not before she noticed the look in his eyes.

She looked over to Remus, who raised his eyebrows at her. Lily blushed and ducked her head. "So Peter must be the rat then?" Peter nodded but didn't elaborate any further. "Well, thank you for sharing that with me. I should be going now…"

Lily stood to leave, but James grabbed her arm and pulled her back down to the bed. "Sorry, Lils, but we're not quite done yet," James said, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Time to bring in the big guns."

_A/N: Hello! I'm sorry if it really sucked today. I could not think of anything! And, yes, I know, Sirius wouldn't say 'Time to bring in the big guns', but I couldnt resist! So, please let me know what you all think. You can do that buy clicking that rectangular button down there and typing a few words. Not too hard, right? Cool. Thanks again for reading!!_

_~Livelier~_

_P.s. If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all. Constructive criticism is always welcomed, though!_


	7. Achievments and Revelations

_A/N: Happy Valentines Day! I hope everybody is enjoying their day. I decided too post this a little V-Day treat. I hope you like it! R&R please!_

_Disclaimer: I only own my creative thought process._

James pulled a silvery piece of fabric out of his trunk with a flourish. "My dad passed this down to me when I was in first year," James said, handing Lily the fabric. Sirius beamed proudly at the cloth.

Lily stared at the cloak confusedly, fingering it gently. "Er, this is…it's brilliant! It's…well, what is it exactly?"

James chuckled and took the cloak back. "Watch." And then he threw it over himself.

Lily gasped and jumped off the bed. "You've got an Invisibility Cloak?!" she shrieked. Remus and Sirius laughed at her reaction, and Peter sniggered quietly along with them.

James reappeared and stuffed the cloak back into his trunk. He sat down next to Lily again and nodded at Remus.

Remus stood and walked over to the dresser with his wand out. After saying a little incantation, he opened one of the drawers and extracted an old piece of parchment.

Lily took the paper from him and frowned down at it. "Reveal yourself!" she commanded, jabbing it with her wand. She stared agape at it as ink appeared at the top of the page. James stiffened next to her and shot a worried glance at Sirius.

_Mr. Prongs would like to add his compliments to the beautiful Miss Lily Evans, and was wondering if she would accompany him to Hogsmeade the next weekend?_

_**Mr. Moony would also like to add that this is highly improbable and that she'd rather 'date the Giant Squid'.**_

_Mr. Padfoot would like to add that if Evans doesn't wish to join Prongs, I am always available._

Mr. Wormtail would like to add that Lily Evans doesn't go for womanizers or Marauders of any kind for that matter.

_Mr. Padfoot resents that he is so good with his lips, and insists that it is not his fault that he is so devilishly handsome. But of course, Prongs is also—_

James ripped the parchment out of Lily's hands before Padfoot could finish his sentence and tapped it with his wand, muttering, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." He kept his face down, focusing on the paper, and commanded his blood not to pool in his cheeks.

Lily hid her satisfied smile and turned to the parchment in James's hands.

Ink was spreading across the paper, moving and forming the shapes of various parts of the castle. "This is Hogwarts!" Lily exclaimed excitedly. James nodded and smiled at her happy face. "Look! There we are! And there's Alice and Frank in that…broom closet. What is this?"

"It's the Marauders Map. We created it in fifth year. It shows everything," James answered.

"And everyone," Sirius added.

Remus: "Every minute…"

"…Of every day!" Peter supplied enthusiastically.

"The Map never lies," they all finished together.

Lily stared bemusedly at them. "You four are nutters." James and Sirius just smirked. "I can't believe you did this in fifth year…this is some seriously advanced magic, you know."

James felt a surge of pride as he looked down at the map. _He_ had done this. He and his best friends had put months of effort into this map, researching the charms, finding the secret passageways. They had done something no one else before them had ever done before, and had done it successfully. Then again, they'd done a lot of things no one else had even attempted to do.

Lily, too, was more than surprised. Before tonight, she hadn't believed something like this possible! Illegal Animagi at the age of 15? And in the very same year, they create this map that most witches or wizards could only dream of making! And, on top of that, James could produce a corporeal patronus in third year, and his friends in fourth. Lily couldn't even produce one now.

James noticed that something was wrong from the frown on Lily's face. "What's wrong?" he asked gently. Sirius and Remus exchanged a glance and slipped quietly out of the room with Peter. Neither James nor Lily noticed their absence.

Lily turned away from his gaze and shook her head. "Nothing. I'm fine.  
"Lily…" James murmured disapprovingly. "Come on, you know you can tell me anything."

She gave him a small, sad smile. "I know." She took a deep breath and stared into his hazel eyes. "I guess I never even thought it would be possible. I always thought that the only reason you guys were top of the class was because you just copied off of Remus," Lily admitted. She laughed once without humor before turning serious again. "You're a great wizard, James. Way better than I will ever be."

James looked shocked at this conclusion. "This is coming from the girl who's able to put me flat on my arse in a duel, and hexed me so bad I had to stay in the Hospital wing for 3 days in second year," he said shaking his head.

Lily smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder. _This could be considered a friendly gesture…right?_ But in her heart, she knew that she didn't mean as a friendly gesture. Far from it, actually. She fancied James Potter… a lot.

"I was wrong," Lily confessed after a moment of thinking over her newest revelation. "I never thought I would ever in a billion years fall for a Marauder."

James froze; his hand, which had been rubbing soothing circles on Lily's back, paused, and his breath hitched in his throat. "I'm—I'm sorry?" he croaked out, pushing his round glasses back up on the bridge of his nose. Lily repeated her last words, smiling jovially, and James's jaw dropped. "Please tell me you're not talking about Moony."

Lily shook her head, and raised her eyebrows expectantly. His confidence returned and he grinned hugely.

"I guess maybe I should kiss you now," James said, inclining his head towards her.

"I suppose you could do that," Lily replied absently, looking at his lips hungrily and inching closer to him.

"Hmm…" And he captured her lips with his own. His hands rested on her hips while hers moved to the sides of James's neck, pulling him even closer.

This kiss wasn't sweet, and innocent like a first kiss was supposed to be. Instead, it was passionate and deep. James had waited a long time for this, and that was apparent in every move he made. The way their lips were moving against each other said the things words just couldn't convey.

It wasn't at all how Lily's other kisses had been, but maybe that's because those other boys weren't James.

When James finally pulled back, his eyes were closed and they were both breathing much harder than usual. "Lily?"

"Yes?" she asked quietly, but she was grinning like a maniac.

"Would you like to come to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?" he inquired hopefully.

Lily blushed and ducked her head. "I would lo—"

"NO!" Sirius shouted bursting into the room, waving his hands wildly above his head.

James stood and glared balefully at his best friend. "Have you been listening this whole bloody time?" he demanded through clenched teeth.

Sirius's eyes widened; it took a lot to get James Potter _truly_ mad, and when he was, you didn't want anything valuable or breakable around. Right now was one of those times. "Prongs, mate, calm down for just a minute so I can explain," Sirius said slowly, backing up.

"I'll give you 30 seconds!" James snarled. Behind him, Lily was beet red, and glowering furiously at Sirius with her arms crossed over her chest. Sirius gestured between her and the door. "No, I think Lily really needs to stay."

Sirius cringed—this wouldn't be easy to explain with her here. "Er, the, er, umbersnay for the etbay on the allway," he explained, struggling to make James understand.

"What?" Lily asked, giving Sirius a strange look that clearly said 'are you sure you're not on drugs of any sort?'

But James understood, and he mouthed "Thanks" to Sirius, and then shoved him out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

"What the hell was that all about?" Lily demanded, throwing her hands in the air.

James flashed her a crooked smile. "Don't worry about it. When you live with Sirius you have to come to expect odd things like that."

"That's for sure," she muttered, accepting James's thin explanation. "It's late. I should be going now."

"Do you have to?" James whined, glancing at the clock. "It's only a quarter 'til twelve."

She nodded wistfully, ignoring James's best pout. "Yes, I'm sorry. Alice and Camey will be worried."

"Alright. We'll talk tomorrow morning." James leaned in and pressed his lips to hers again for a minute before pulling away. "Sweet dreams…" he whispered.

"Goodnight, James."

_A/N: IMPORTANT: for those of you who do not understand Pig Latin and were extremely confused by Sirius's explanation, he said "The number for the bet on the wall". In case you don't remember, when Lily finally says yes to James the numbers will flash, sirens will go off, and fireworks just might explode. I think that it's fairly certain to say that Lily would find out about the bet, and would most likely not be too happy about it. What girl likes to be bet on? _

_Anyway, thank you soooo much for reading, and please review! Thanks! Happy Valentines Day!_

_~Livelier~_


	8. Locked Out

_A/N: There's absolutely no point to these. R&R please!_

_Disclaimer: All the characters and events you recognize belong to the wonderful Joanne Rowling (JKR)_

* * *

Lily awoke the next morning to the bright sunlight streaming through the window, and Camey's jovial whistling as she pranced around the room, pulling things from everyone's trunks. "Rise and shine!" she sang as she passed Alice's bed and headed for the closet.

Alice groaned and turned over, burying her face into her pillows. "…Too early, Cam…"

Lily grinned and sat up, propping her back against her headboard. "What's the occasion?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked over Camey, who was holding up different shirts against her body in front of the mirror.

Cam smiled fondly at the shirt she held with her right hand, and threw it over her head. "It's Saturday, silly! _And_ it's absolutely gorgeous outside!" she exclaimed and spun around, placing her hands on her hips. "What do you think?"

Lily frowned as she recognized the shirt. "I love it. But that may be because it's _mine,_" she said, but she was smiling.

Camey froze and turned her head sharply to look at Lily. "Oh, that's right, I meant to ask…" she mused aloud. Her face brightened a bit, and a brilliant smile lit up her face again. "Hey, Lily, can I wear your shirt?"

Lily rolled her eyes and nodded. "Of course you can. That color clashes with my hair anyway," she lied, shrugging. As she looked around the room, she noticed that one of the four-poster beds was empty. "Cam, where's Mary?"

She shrugged as she pulled on a pair of tight-fitting jeans, and slipped on some shoes. "I don't know; she never came back last night." A mischievous gleam appeared in her eyes as she turned to Lily. "Speaking of which…would you like to explain where you were until well past midnight?"

Lily felt her cheeks begin to burn, so she hung her head, letting her red hair fall around her face, acting as a curtain. "Erm, I may or may not have been with James," she hedged.

At this point, Alice shot straight out of her bed like a bullet and jumped onto Lily's. "What?!" she and Camey demanded together. Cam flopped down next to Alice and joined her in staring accusingly at Lily.

Lily tried to hide under her covers, but Alice yanked them back, exposing Lily's entire body. "Alice…" Lily whined, stretching her nightgown down to her knees to try to keep warm. They both continued to glare at her. "Alright, alright!" Lily cried as she snatched her covers away from Alice. "I was with the boys! Happy now?"

Alice smirked and shook her head, while Cam raised her eyebrows questioningly. "Not quite…"

Lily groaned, wondering how much she would be allowed to tell them. They had told her specifically not to tell anyone about them being Animagi because that would just lead to questions, and, although she knew Alice and Camey would never breathe a word of it, James trusted her, and she wasn't about to go breaking that trust. "Well," she began slowly, "after patrols, I was down in the common room reading when Remus asked me to join them in their dorm. He said it was important, so I went along with it. When I got there, Sirius got all…well, serious, and said 'Welcome to the Marauders' Meeting.' Oh, yeah, and after that, I _may_ have snogged James, and it's _possible_ that we're going out now, but I don't really know. He said we'd talk in the morning," Lily finished, looking up expectantly at her friends.

They looked at each other for a moment before pouncing on Lily. "Congratulations, Lily! Oh, I always knew you liked him… That's so great! Ooh, was he a good kisser? I've always heard he was…"

"Did you even hear the rest of what I said?" Lily asked.

Cam grinned and smacked her playfully on the arm. "Well, of course we did, silly! We just don't care about that part. Although, Sirius being serious is kind of unusual… And what the hell is a 'Marauders' Meeting'?" Cam paused, tilting her head to the side for a moment, before shaking it. "What are you waiting for? You've got to go talk to James!"

Lily shook her head slightly, wondering how she ever managed to survive seven years with them as roommates.

*

**

*

James laid in his bed with his hands folded behind his head, replaying the last nights' events over in his mind. He couldn't believe how close he had been to spilling the beans on the bet. He didn't really care about winning it anymore; all he wanted was Lily. And he was so close, too, but that bloody bet had to go and ruin everything!

He sighed and rolled out of bed. He was so lost in thought, he didn't even realize what he was doing as he walked to the bathroom and turned on the shower. His mind was on Lily, and what she would do if she ever found out about the bet. He seemed to be in a trance as he stripped out of his pajamas and stepped into the steaming hot shower.

His tense muscles relaxed immediately under the pressure of the hot water, and the steam filled his sinuses and cleared his mind. James stood in the shower for ten minutes doing absolutely nothing—just letting the water sooth him. A loud knock on the door jarred him out of his stupor.

"Bloody hell, Prongs, get out of the damn shower! My hair needs conditioner!" Sirius yelled through the door. "Lily doesn't care if you smell like Tahitian cherry!"

James grinned and yelled back "Give me two more minutes!" as he reached for Sirius's shampoo bottle. He quickly screwed off the cap and then dumped the remains down the drain, and poured his Tahitian cherry body wash—his mum really did have a wonderful sense of smell—into the empty shampoo bottle and placed it back on the shelf. He turned off the shower, and reached for a towel to wrap around his body.

"Patience is a virtue, Padfoot," James said as he walked from the bathroom into the dorm.

Sirius scowled at him, and a mischievous gleam appeared in his eyes as he walked over to the door and pulled it open. He stepped out into the hall but quickly jumped back inside the room and slammed the door.  
"What is it, Pad?" James asked as he made his way over to Sirius.

Sirius gestured to the door with wide eyes. "See for yourself, mate."

James opened the door and poked his head outside. Sirius grinned and gave him a hard shove, then locked the door behind him.

Realizing what Sirius had done, James looked down at the towel wrapped around him, and then started beating his fist against the door. "Dammit, Padfoot, let me back in! Come on, Sirius, I've got nothing on but a bloody towel!" he yelled. James heard it get very quiet downstairs and then several giggles and footsteps. His eyes went wide and his cheeks burned at the sound of the footsteps getting closer. "Sirius let me in! I'll do your homework for a week if you unlock the door!" James begged. "And I'll wash your clothes for a week! Even your Quidditch gear!" The laughter on the other side of the door only got louder.

A loud, female voice quieted everyone down at the bottom of the stairs. It got quiet for a minute, but then there were more giggles and the sound of the footsteps grew.

James swore loudly and banged his hand against the door again. _Damn. Where's Wormy or Remus when you need them?_ James felt a tap on his shoulder, and he spun around to come face to face with Lily Evans.

"Hullo, James," Lily greeted him, wearing an amused smirk. She glanced down and immediately felt her face heat up.

James, blushing like mad, grinned sheepishly. "Hey, Lils…" he replied, running a hand through his wet hair. "What brings you here on this fine Saturday morning?"

Lily rolled her eyes but otherwise ignored his comment, and pulled out her wand. "Alohomora," she said, pointing her wand at the doorknob. The door swung open to reveal Sirius who was laughing so hard he had fallen to the ground. Lily grinned at him, and shook her head. "Accio James's wand." His wand flew into his hand, and he stared at it bemusedly. "I'll let you take care of him," Lily hinted, and then placed her hand on his bare chest and reached up on her tiptoes to kiss his lips quickly. "I'll see you at breakfast!"

James waved at her, and then turned to Sirius with a wicked grin spreading across his face. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this."

* * *

_A/N: I hope you enjoyed this. I sure liked writing this particular chapter. You get a better look at Lily and James's relationships with their friends. There's nothing too important in this chapter…it was mostly just a filler. Anyways, thanks so much for reading, and PLEASE REVIEW!! Thanks!_

_~Livelier~_


	9. Sweet Revenge

Chapter 9:

_A/N: Here's your Saturday update! I really shouldn't be updating just from the lack of reviews. More than 100 people read the last chapter the day I put it up, 11 people added this story to their alerts/favorites, and how many reviews do I get? Three. That's 3.72 percent. That's sad. So, if you want more updates, all you have to do is review. No reviews, no updates. Enjoy! Review!_

_Disclaimer: I only own my creativity!_

There were a series of collective gasps from both the students of Hogwarts as well as the teachers when James and Sirius entered the Great Hall later that morning. A few younger girls even erupted into hysteric sobs at the sight.

Thanks to James, Sirius had not only sprouted green, leafy foliage from his ears, but his hair was also now just as greasy as Snape's. It was a horrific sight.

James grinned and thumped Sirius on the back. "Don't worry about it, ladies, he'll only be like this for about a week…give or take a few days!" he shouted to the Hall.

Several cries of disgust and outrage met his ears. "I can't kiss _that_! It's bad for my reputation!" "Whoever did this to him is going to pay!" and even "But I had an appointment with him scheduled for Thursday!" It seemed that the Slytherins were the only ones who didn't mind Sirius's new taste in hair care products. They actually _cheered_ for James. Okay, cheered is an exaggeration, but a few clapped heartily for him.

"I thought you were my best mate!" Sirius hissed to James, raking his hands through his oily hair desperately, and putting on his most charming smile.

"Of course I am!" James cried, looking appalled at the thought of being anything else. "I just thought you needed a bit of a…makeover. Don't do that, it only makes it worse," he added, pulling Sirius's hand away from his hair, and dragging him over to where Lily was sitting with all her friends. Remus and Peter were already there.

"Hullo, boys," Lily greeted them merrily. "I love the new look, Sirius—it really suits you. But, sadly, I don't think the rest of your admirers agree with me."

Sirius turned in his seat and saw a gaggle of girls staring, horror-struck at him. "Uggghhh," he groaned, before burying his face in his arms. "My life is over!"

Lily rolled her eyes, and shared a glance with James that clearly said, "I can't believe you have to live with this" and patted Sirius hesitantly on the back. "Oh, I'm sure you're life isn't _over_," she comforted him.

He lifted his head up and glared at her. "Evans, would you take a look around. Everyone's _laughing_ at me! Even Dumbledore is clapping!" Sirius exclaimed, gesturing wildly to the long table at the front of the room where the staff sat. Sure enough, the Headmaster was applauding quietly with an amused smile on his face, and his eyes twinkling joyfully. McGonnagal was also watching the scene with a vague smile on her lips—or he thought that might be a smile.

Lily chuckled lightly and nodded approvingly towards James. "Well, it was pretty brilliant, if I do say so myself."

Sirius scowled, shoved his plate away from him, and stalked out of the Great Hall with the laughter chasing after him into the hallway.

"Do you think he's really upset?" Lily asked them nervously.

Remus shook his head. "Nah, he'll get over it. He pulls this kind of thing on us all the time, so he was bound to get it back sometime."

"What exactly did we miss this morning?" Peter asked, curious, tilting his head to the side. He couldn't imagine what Sirius did to deserve James's cruel, and unusual punishment.

James blushed and began shoveling food into his mouth at an alarming speed, so Lily decided to speak up for him. Grinning, she explained the morning's events to Peter. "Sirius thought—and was right, for once in his life—that it would be funny to lock James out of your dorm while he was wearing nothing but a towel. Of course, James, being the ever so clever lad he is, was foolish enough to shout that loudly enough for the entire common room to hear."

By this time, the group was laughing so hard, it was a wonder that none of them choked on their food. James frowned at his food, his face a brilliant shade of red.

"How'd you manage the greasy hair?" Alice asked interestedly, staring over their heads to the Slytherin table where Snape sat with his cronies.

James smirked proudly. "You might not want to use Tahitian Cherry body wash as shampoo…" he hinted.

Peter's fork clattered loudly when he dropped it on his plate. "You replaced Sirius's _shampoo?_" he asked disbelievingly. James nodded, still smirking. "Oooh, he's going to _Avada Kedavra _you when he finds out_._"

Lily snorted loudly and teased James, "Don't worry, I'll protect you from big, bad Sirius."

This seemed to remind Alice and Camey of something. They leaned forward and put their chin in their hands and looked between the pair. "So, James, Lily…What's on the agenda today?" Alice asked slyly.

James gulped and pushed his plate away, suddenly not interested in his food. "Er, right. Lily, I was meaning to talk to you about that."

Alice and Camey straightened up, looking satisfied, and stood up. "Well, we'd best leave you two to it," Cam said, winking. Remus, catching on, joined them, but Peter still sat down, looking at them confusedly. Cam winked conspicuously again, at Peter this time.

"Wha?" he asked, his mouth full of food.

Alice groaned and grabbed his ear and dragged him from the room, grumbling all the way. "Seriously, Remus, how do you live with him?"

"Hey! I'm right here, you know!" they heard Peter protest shrilly.

As soon as they were out of sight, James turned to Lily, grinning. "How would you like to take a little stroll with me on this fine October morning?" he asked charmingly, though his fingers were crossed under the table, hoping that this wouldn't qualify as asking her out.

Lily blushed, but nodded enthusiastically. "I would love to, James."

No sound came, and no fireworks were visible, so James heaved a sigh of relief and stood up, offering his hand to Lily. She took it gladly, and relished its comforting warmth and the tingles that shot up her arm.

"You're going to need your cloak—it's still chilly outside," James warned, leading her out of the Great Hall. "Is it alright if we stop by our dorms really quickly?"

Lily nodded as she hopped over a trick step on the staircase. "Of course."

They clutched on to the railing as the staircase changed its direction. They quickly stepped off at the top before it could change again and began the walk to the Gryffindor tower. Suddenly, James pulled Lily behind a large tapestry.

She shrieked in surprise. "What is this place?" she asked as James led her through the dark, concealed passageway.

"Secret shortcut. Sirius and I found it during second year when we were running from Filch and that blasted cat of his. Sirius thought we could hide behind the tapestry. We couldn't believe our luck when this was what we found," James explained, chuckling quietly.

"But I thought Filch knows about all the secret passages," she said, frowning to herself.

James laughed happily. "He wishes!"

They came to a halt at the end of the corridor. James released her hand, much to Lily's chagrin, and placed his hands on the wall, and pushed. A section in the wall, about the size of a door, swung out, and they stepped into the hallway. Lily could hear the Fat Lady singing—or trying to—across the hall and to the right.

"Flobberworms," Lily said to the portrait. The Fat Lady swung open and they clambered through the hole. Lily turned to James. "I'm just going to get my cloak, and I'll meet you right back down here." She darted up the steps to her dorm.

As soon as she was up the stairs, James ran up his, taking the steps two at a time. He pulled out his wand and pointed at a metal locker in the corner of the room. He didn't even notice his friends, sitting on their beds, watching him curiously. The locker opened and he reached inside of it to pull out its only occupant.

"Bye!" James yelled over his shoulder as he sped out of the room.

"So he did notice us," Sirius noted before returning to _Quidditch Through the Ages_.

Back downstairs, Lily was already waiting for him, perched on the back of the couch. Her eyes widened in alarm as she spotted the object in James's hands. "What's that for?" she asked, pointing a shaky finger at the item.

James grinned.

_**IF YOU DID NOT READ THE A/N AT THE TOP, PLEASE READ THIS!!**_

A/N: Like I said up at the top, if you don't review, I won't update. It absolutely kills me to have to threaten like that, but when I don't get reviews, it makes me feel like…well, crap, to be honest. So, please, just click that little gray/green, rectangular button down there and type a few words! Reviews just make my day, and my day needs making!

_Thank you! I hope you enjoyed chapter 9 of Bet On Me. It was kind of short, but I needed another filler. You're not going to want to miss the next one! Only three of four chapters left! Should be done by mid-March! Thanks everyone!_

_~Livelier~_


	10. High Flying

A/N: Hello, all! Only two chapters left! It's going to be so weird not coming back every Saturday to update… But, never fret! I've got something else I'm working on in my free time. The first two chapters are done, so I'll get those up as soon as this one is done. But, anyway, this chapter is a bit longer than the other ones (7 pages in MS Word), and it was going to be longer, but I decided that I wanted to end it with a bit of a cliffy! R&R please! Thanks!

* * *

_In the last chapter:_

_Her eyes widened in alarm as she spotted the object in James's hands. "What's that for?" she asked, pointing a shaky finger at the item._

_James grinned._

"It's a broomstick—a Silver Arrow three-point-oh," James answered matter-of-factly, grabbing her head and dragging her out of the common room.

Lily rolled her eyes. "I know what it _is_, I was just wondering what it is _for_," she replied, like this was the most obvious thing in the world.

"We're going flying," James said, mirroring hertone.

Lily halted automatically, jerking James to a stop as well. "What's wrong?" he asked, confused by Lily's sudden indignation.

"Nothing, I just thought you'd said that _we're_ going flying, when, obviously, you're the only one who is," she explained, chuckling quietly to herself.

James eyed her amusedly, a small smile playing around the corners of his lips. "Obviously?"

"Well, you've only got one broom, and both of us will hardly be able to fit," she said, waving her hand towards the Silver Arrow James was carrying over his shoulder. She grinned at him, proud of her clever logic.

"Rubbish! You're small; we'll fit just fine." He tugged on her hand, but she dug her heels in again, refusing to go anywhere. James sighed, and turned around to face her. "What now?"

Lily's eyes were dancing wildly between James and his Silver Arrow. "Me? I can't fly!" she shrieked, lunging forward to latch onto his arm. "You saw what happened first year! Madam Hooch had to fly up and rescue me! I'll fall and die, and break my neck!"

James bit his lip, torn between laughing at her crazed expression, or taking pity on her and relenting. He worked to pry her fingers off of his arm, and squeezed her hand reassuringly. "You'll be fine," he soothed. "You'll be with me."

"Oh, great, so, instead of falling off from 50 meters up, I'll fall off from _150!_ How does that solve anything?"

James pursed his lips and looked pleadingly at Lily. "Come on, Lils, have some faith."

"It's a bleeding stick of wood!"

"I meant in me," James pointed out, glaring at the frantic redhead.

She tried to smile apologetically but it came out more like an unsightly grimace. With a large sigh, Lily nodded reluctantly, her shoulders slumping, and moved to stand by his side. "Alright, but can we please just…start out slow?"

"Of course."

Lily took a deep breath, and nodded her head again, with more conviction this time, and let James lead her out the front doors.

Camey was right. It really was a beautiful October morning. There wasn't a cloud in the light blue sky, and the sun rested high above their heads. But there was also an edge of coolness to the air, hinting at the coming of a very cold, long winter.

Lily pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulder, glad that James had stopped along the way so she could grab one, and smiled.

"Beautiful day," she noted happily, eager to break the silence that had sprung up between them once they had started walking.

"Definitely," James agreed, shooting a sideways glance at the girl beside him, and grinning. "Perfect weather for flying."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Every day is a perfect day for flying in your mind," she pointed out.

James chuckled and pulled her to the tunnel that led out to the Quidditch pitch. At the end of the tunnel, Lily could see the edges of the green field, and the base of one of the huge metal hoops.

"We're just flying, right?" Lily clarified timidly. "You're not going to try to teach me how to _play_, are you?"

He shrugged. "Only if you want to. Personally, I think you could be a great Chaser. You've got just the right body type. Have you noticed how most girls are Chasers? That's because—"

"James."

"Their bodies are—oh, did you say something, Lily?" James asked, turning his head to look at her with wide, confused eyes.

Lily laughed and shook her head. "Remind me not to get you talking about the game of Quidditch while trying to have a conversation."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Moony always said that Sirius and I tend to ramble when we get talking about something we're really passionate about. The boys all get pretty annoyed with me when I start rambling about y—er, maybe we should get going," James suggested quickly, ducking his head so she couldn't see the blush creeping up his neck.

Lily cocked one eyebrow. She had been fairly sure that he was about to say 'when I start rambling about you' but stopped himself before he could reveal how utterly infatuated he was. "Alright," she agreed, smiling a little.

They stepped out into the bright light at the end of the tunnel. Lily, though she was squinting like mad, gasped at what she saw.

The empty pitch seemed a lot bigger than it had on the rare occasions that Camey or Alice dragged her to come see the matches. With the stands deserted, she could see just how many hundreds, or maybe even thousands, of seats lined the sides of the stadium. The hoops—three on each side—towered over everything else, making the rest of the pitch seem almost _small. _

The sheer size was nothing short of amazing.

"Wow," she breathed, marveling at the sight in front of her.

James beamed proudly at the pitch. "Come on. We'd best get you on that broom."

"Okay, grasp the handle like this," James instructed, taking Lily's hands and placing them on the smooth wood. They both tried to ignore the tingles that shot up their arms when their skin touched. "And scoot forward a little bit…there. Alright, do you remember everything I've told you?"

Lily nodded, even though she actually had no idea. She found it a bit hard to concentrate on his words when his hard chest was pressed up against her back, and his warm, rough hands covering hers. Honestly, how did the boy ever expect her to learn a thing when he was so…there? Just his presence made it difficult to breathe properly, and now he wanted her to learn how to fly? He was utterly bonkers!

James reached his arms around her body so that he could take hold of the broom if anything went wrong. He was practically surrounding her, encasing her. It was like she was a turtle and he was the shell wrapped around her, protecting her.

"James, I have a question," she blurted out suddenly, much to her dismay. She looked down, hoping that her cheeks weren't as red hot as they felt.

"Yes?" James asked, amused as to her sudden outburst.

"Well, I was just wondering how, um, Quidditch players stay so…fit…when all they do is fly around on a bloody stick of wood," Lily said, stumbling over her words as she rushed to get them out.

James smirked, not oblivious to her discomfort in asking the question. "Quidditch is a lot more than just 'flying around on a bloody stick of wood', Lily. You have to do that as well as be able to throw a heavy, red ball, and be able to throw it accurately. Beaters have to have the strength to carry a five-pound bat and whack Bludgers at the players on opposing team," he explained, his awe for the sport obvious.

"But what about the Seekers, and the Keepers? Their jobs aren't exactly physically vigorous," Lily argued.

James chuckled lightly, muttering "physically vigorous" under his breath and shaking his head. "I suppose you're right…in a way. You see, Keepers need to be very agile and quick in order to protect each of the three hoops, not to mention superb fliers. Seekers have arguably the hardest job of all, but they also get all the fame and glory, because they hold the sole power to end and, most of the time, win the game, and because of that, they are the focus of the Beaters. And the captains of the team have to be able to do all of that, so they understand what can be improved on, and how to draw up the plays.

"Basketball and baseball are 'physically vigorous', right? Quidditch is those two sports mixed together but played on brooms, therefore it's 'physically vigorous' as well."

Lily stared at James bemusedly. Of course, she knew the rules to the game James loved so much, and she knew—roughly—how to play it, but she had never thought of it like that before. She could have never imagined how hard it actually was. It always looked so easy from the stands to her.

And how did he know what basketball and baseball were?

"Now that you've sufficiently distracted me for a good five minutes, can we start flying?" James asked her.

Lily nodded, eager now; she wanted to see what it was about the sport that made James love it so much. She wanted to see for herself just if it's just as hard as he claims it to be.

"Okay, I'll push us off. On the count of three," he said. "One…two…three!"

Lily shrieked as the broom rose into the air, and tightened her relaxed hold on the handle. James laughed, partly at her reaction, and partly from anticipation. He released one hand from the broom to rub her arm soothingly.

"Open your eyes, Lily, we're not that high up," James coaxed.

Lily cracked one eye open and glanced down; they were only about 10 meters up. She breathed a sigh of relief and opened the other eye willingly.

They—well, mostly James—were flying slowly around the perimeter of the pitch. The slight wind was whipping her hair around her face, making it hard to see, and stinging her exposed skin, but she found that she was actually enjoying it.

"Ready to go faster?" James asked her, grinning.

Lily nodded, her eyes alight with exhilaration. The look on her and James's faces were almost identical. She laughed happily as James leaned forward and pushed the broom to go faster.

The feeling was incredible.

Lily wondered randomly if this was what it felt like to be a bird, and felt the irrational desire to lift her hands off the handle and spread her arms out. But fear kept her hands firmly in place.

Half an hour later, when they landed back on the ground, it felt like they had just started flying not five minutes ago. As soon as they were both off the broom, and it was sitting on the grass, Lily rushed over to James and threw her arms around his neck.

He wrapped his arms around her waist hesitantly, and pressed his face against her hair. "I'm glad you liked it," James said with a chuckle.

"Next time you'll have to teach me how to play. If just flying was that fun, playing must be amazing! Wait—there will be a next time, right?" Lily inquired, pulling away from him.

James wasn't having any of that; he clutched her closer as she tried distancing herself from him. "There will be as many next times as you want," he promised. Then he let go of her, and took a step away. "Lily, I have something I need to ask you."

Lily smiled and clasped her hands together. "Yes, James?"

James took a deep breath, and glanced quickly up to the castle. He could just barely see the Gryffindor tower from where they stood. _This ought to be far enough away…_ he thought. "Would you like to go out with me, Lily?"

* * *

A/N: There you have it! I added that little conversation between Lily and James about the physically demanding aspects of Quidditch because some people don't exactly understand how flying around on a broom can lead to a very…fit person. So that was for those people!

You guys are absolutely crazy, you know? 15 reviews in 5 hours. I don't know about you, but to me, that's pretty fan-bloody-tastic. It doesn't really seem like a lot, but it means a lot to me, so I'm no longer going to beg, or threaten for reviews! One reviewer pointed out that this could be turn-off to some readers (thank you!), so I'm only going to ask nicely now.

Okay, this is getting ridiculously long, so I'm going to shut up in about 4 words. Thanks for reading! R&R, please! Damn, that was five.

With oodles of love,

~Livelier~


	11. Explosions

Chapter 11:

_A/N: Good afternoon, lovely readers. I'm going to go ahead and apologize in advance for what's about to happen in this chapter. It's not my favorite. I was really struggling while writing this. There were too many distractions around me. Also, the reviews on the last chapter were virtually nonexistent, so thank you to those who did review, or add me to your alerts. I believe that's all I have to say… Enjoy! _

_Disclaimer: I solemnly swear I don't own anything to do with the Harry Potter franchise. __I only own my limited creativity. _

* * *

_Last Chapter:_

_James took a deep breath and glanced quickly up to the castle. He could just barely see the Gryffindor Tower from where they stood. _This ought to be far enough away,_ he thought. "Would you like to go out with me, Lily?"_

Lily bit her lip, trying to contain the brilliant smile that was threatening to break across her face. She nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes?" James asked in disbelief, staring wide-eyed at her. "You'll go out with me?"

"Yes!" Lily replied jubilantly, laughing as James picked her up and spun her around. "James!" she squealed.

He set her on her feet, and leaned in to kiss her, but a loud outburst off in the distance caused both their heads to snap up.

Out of the window of a dorm high in one of the towers of the castle, huge fireworks were exploding in the air. Sparks of every color were lighting up the blue sky, erupting into various shapes and words. Lily giggled as a pink heart framed the letters L+J blew up above them.

James watched Lily's expression carefully, internally wincing every time he heard a boom from the fireworks overhead. He didn't know what else exactly would happen, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to avoid an explanation if it went much farther than this.

Lily clapped appreciatively at the end of the fireworks show, and turned to James with an expectant look. But James panicked when he began hearing a familiar, deep voice; magically magnified to one hundred times its normal volume, Sirius's voice spoke out to the students of Hogwarts.

"Fellow Hogwartians…" the voice boomed.

James turned to Lily, and grabbed her hands in his, fearful of anything Sirius had to say. "Listen, Lily, I need you to know that I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Okay? Please, you have to believe that I never meant for any of this to happen and " he pleaded desperately.

Lily slipped her hands out of his slowly, her brow pushing together in the middle, confused. "James, what are you _talking_ about?" she demanded.

But her question was soon answered by Sirius's thunderous voice. "Now pay up, Jamesiekins!" was all Lily heard, but it was all she needed to hear.

"Pay up? _Pay up?_" she hissed menacingly. "What does he mean_ pay up_?" Her hands were balled into fists by her sides; her chest was heaving, and her teeth were clenched.

James looked as though he was being tortured by means of the Cruciatus Curse. He grimaced, and reached out to touch her arm, but she yanked it out of his reach. "Lily, please," he whispered hoarsely.

"You made a bet on me." Though her stance had not changed, her voice had lost its hysterical edge, and was now deadly calm. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "How much?"

James did a double take. "Wha—what?"

"How much?" she repeated quietly. "How much was the bet for?"

James swallowed nervously, and tugged at the collar of his shirt. "Er, 10 galleons," he croaked out. _(A/N: In chapter 4, I said it was for 1000 galleons, but I assure you that was a typo. No first year has 1000 galleons! At least, I hope not.)_

Her eyes snapped open, and she glared at him through narrowed slits. "You made a damn bet on me for _10 galleons_?" Then she snapped.

James swore loudly, and tried awkwardly to comfort her without invading her 'personal bubble'. "Aw, Lily, please don't cry!" He reached out to pull her into his arms, but she began pummeling every inch of him.

"You—selfish—bastard! I—trusted—you! I told—you—how I—felt—and you—_lied_—to me!" Lily shouted in between punches. "I wish I never even met you! Stay the hell away from me, Potter!" And then she ran.

She ran all the way back to the girls' seventh year dorms before she succumbed to the pain, and the misery. She threw herself down onto her bed, and buried her head in the feathery pillows on the bed.

After Lily had cried herself out, the anger flared up.

No one dared to enter the room for hours, except for Alice and Camey. They sat there and took her rants, and her meltdowns in silence, occasionally adding their two bits, letting her cry, and letting her throw things.

Meanwhile, James didn't even bother to go back to his dorm. He knew what he would have to face if he did: ashamed Sirius, wise Remus, comforting Peter. He slipped the cloak out of his back pocket where he had stowed it with the Map, and, after putting his broom into his locker in the team locker room, left. He didn't know where he was going; he didn't care. He just needed to get away. Far, far away.

James Potter sat in the back corner of the Three Broomsticks, staring moodily at his tall glass of Firewhiskey with his hood pulled over his head. It was Saturday, so the pub was packed with middle-aged witches and wizards, and those who had just graduated Hogwarts in the past few years. More than once, girls in their early twenties approached him wearing alluring smiles, and asked him to dance or buy them a drink. But they usually scampered away once he looked up and glared at them through his narrowed eyes.

His usually clear hazel was murky and his hurt was plain in the depths of them. But then, the Firewhiskey might have something to do with that as well.

He picked up his glass and drained the last of it in one long gulp. Upon hearing his glass slam down on the table, Madam Rosmerta picked up another bottle from behind the bar, and walked over to him.

"You feeling alright?" she asked him while filling his glass again.

James nodded glumly, and sipped on his Firewhiskey. Rosmerta eyed him wearily, and then glanced back at the bar. Only one other bartender was working, Tom. She untied apron, tossed it on the table, and slid into the booth seat across from him.

"Tell me about her," Rosmerta commanded, pressing the bottle she had used to fill James's glass to her lips.

James looked up, startled by her abrupt question. "Er, what?" he asked, thrown.

"I'm assuming that it's the Head Girl, Lily Evans, that's the source of your troubles, am I correct?"

James winced at her name, but nodded.

Rosmerta smiled knowingly at him, and went on. "I thought so. This wouldn't have anything to do with the bet you and Sirius made back in first year, would it?"

James's brow furrowed, and he leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table between them. "Yeah, it is," he replied distractedly, "but how do you know all this?"

Rosmerta just shrugged. "You boys have been coming in here for years. Don't think I don't overhear the things you talk about, or know how you sneak in here."

James grimaced, wondering just how much she knew, and went back to drinking his Firewhiskey. A warm, tingling feeling was spreading through his veins, and he welcomed the familiar feeling. He knew it wasn't much longer until he was completely smashed.

"James," Rosmerta began gently, "you need to let her alone. She'll come around in due time, but until then, keep your distance. Right now, she doesn't want anything to do with you or your mates."

He didn't say anything in reply; he just kept drinking. He wasn't worried about getting drunk, not now. He begged for ease of mind. He wanted to forget.

Rosmerta patted his hand, and stood up, picking her apron up off the table. "My shift's over, so I'm going home." She took another look at him, and added, "And I'm telling Tom to cut you off after another two glasses."

James nodded his thanks, and watched her leave. Once she was out of sight, he pulled out his wand, and transfigured a napkin into a sign that said, "Reserved", and pulled his Invisibility Cloak over him, and rested his head against the back of the seat.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

_A/N: Did I forget to mention that this chapter was quite short up there? Huh. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this! If you didn't, I'm terribly sorry. Please, please review! They light up my day! Thanks!_

_One more thing: Last week I said that there was only two chapters left, but I decided upon writing this chapter that I would need more than that if I wanted to include everything I wanted to before the ending. So now there are only two chapters left!_

_~Livelier~_


	12. Missing!

Chapter 12:

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All the characters/ideas you recognize belong to the wonderful JK Rowling.

* * *

Lily awoke early the next morning, intent on finishing her massive pile of homework before…someone could wake up, and interrupt her studies. So, she was surprised to see not James, but Sirius lounging across the sofa in the common room at 6 o' clock in the morning.

Determined to make her position clear, she stuck her nose in the air, pointedly ignoring him, and marched to the tables in the corner of the room. Sirius pursed his lips, half amused, half irritated as she slammed her books on the table. He quietly pulled out his wand, silently apologizing to her in advance, and flicked it at her.

Lily's body locked up, freezing her the way she had been sitting; her hand curled around the quill, and her arm extended over her Potions essay.

Sirius walked over to where she sat, and pulled out the chair next to her. "I'm sorry, Lily, I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't necessary," he apologized, giving her a small smile. Her green eyes were hard, and flashing dangerously.

She wanted so badly to spit the word "what?" at him, but her lips refused to move and frame the words. She also felt the unmistakable urge to hit something—preferably him—but that wasn't working too well, either.

"I just thought you should know that James really did like you. Hell, he might even love you, Lily! And now…" He shook his shaggy head sadly. "The whole bet was my fault," Sirius admitted, hanging his head; she could see that he was plainly ashamed. "We started it in first year, right after James asked you out for the first time. I said that he would have to ask you out a thousand times before you ever agreed, but he didn't think so: 'No one can resist the famous Potter Charm,' James said to me." Sirius imitated James's deep voice perfectly, and Lily felt a sharp stab of pain rip through her chest. He sighed loudly, distracting her from the hurt. "Well, you know how James gets. God forbid he ever be wrong about something. So we bet.

"At first, the bet was his drive. I suspect the reason he wanted to win so badly was that he didn't have 10 galleons—I know I didn't! But then… around fourth year, something started to change. He would talk about you _constantly_. It was always 'did you see her kick everyone's arse in DADA today?' or 'don't you love her hair like that? It's so…_red_'. Remus was the one who figured it out first." Sirius chuckled softly for a moment. "Merlin, you should've seen his face. But he accepted it quickly enough. After that, the bet hardly ever came up. He approached me many times, asking if we could call it off, but, being the idiotic git I am, I always told him that it was out of the question."

He turned his head to face her abruptly, just as she was thinking,_ is there a point to this conversation?_ "I guess what I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't think that James didn't care. Believe me when I say he did. At this point, I'm pretty sure he would jump in front of an Unforgivable for you, and he would do it gladly. I don't expect you to go throw yourself into his arms at the next available chance and snog him senseless, but could you just…think about what I said here?" Sirius asked beseechingly. He sighed when he realized he wouldn't be getting an answer. "I guess you can't answer that, can you? _Finite incantatem._" And then he walked away, leaving Lily to her muddled thoughts, and conflicting emotions.

Despite her best friends' frantic attempts to convince her otherwise, Lily thought it would be best to attend classes on Monday morning. She took her time getting ready, paying great attention to her hair and makeup; she didn't want to show just how much her falling out with James affected her. Of course, another part of her was doing it for a completely different reason.

But her efforts were entirely wasted. James wasn't at breakfast, and neither were the rest of the Marauders. Lily kept her thoughts positive, though, telling herself that they had just overslept, and were late for breakfast. She sneaked sly glances towards the doors every few minutes in hopes that they would come strutting through them at any moment.

Camey and Alice were not fooled though. They knew just who Lily was looking for every time she scanned the crowd when she thought that they were paying attention, and they knew the exact reason she had spent nearly an hour primping before reluctantly trudging down the stairs behind them.

But James and the rest of the Marauders never showed.

Still, Lily pushed through the halls, searching the crowd determinedly, and ignoring the stares and whispers she was getting, along with the furious glares from other girls.

They weren't in any of the first three classes she had with, so it startled her to see them sitting in their usual seats when she entered the Advanced Transfiguration classroom.

She smiled politely at them as she would have done any other day, and took her seat in the row in front of them. Lily didn't dare glance at the empty chair next to hers where James would have normally sat.

Once everyone had filed in, McGonnagal stood up behind her desk and looked around the room slowly. Her eyes froze on James's empty seat for a second, and then turned to Lily. McGonnagal opened her mouth to ask where James was, but something about Lily's expression made her look back to Sirius instead. "Mr. Black, where is Mr. Potter?" she demanded through pursed lips.

Sirius hesitated before answering, "I don't know, Professor." Lily spun around, as did the rest of the class. She noticed now how desperate and grim their faces all were. Sirius didn't wear his signature cocky grin, but instead an unsightly grimace, and his dark, stormy eyes were clouded over with worry.

Remus looked similar to how he always did just before a full moon. His robes were wrinkled, and his hair disheveled like he hadn't gotten enough sleep. His expression was an exact replica of Sirius's.

Peter was much more open about his worry. His feet were tapping impatiently, and he kept shooting frantic glances towards the door.

It was the first time Lily had ever seen them truly distraught.

McGonnagal gave the boys a quizzical look, but seemed to believe them, and turned away from them. "Today we'll be learning about Animagi…" McGonnagal began, but Lily didn't hear the rest.

She pulled out a piece of parchment, and quickly scribbled a few things on it, then crinkled it up and tossed it over her head.

Sirius unfolded the parchment, and smoothed it out so he could read the words. It read:

_How the hell can you not know where your best mate is??_ Lily's normally neat, elegant scrawl was messy and bunched together; the letters and words were all connected, like she had been in too much of a hurry to complete each separate letter.

Sirius looked over to Remus, who had been reading the note over his shoulder, and shrugged. Remus contemplated for a moment, and then nodded.

**He never came back Saturday night. We haven't seen him since breakfast that morning you went flying with him, **he wrote. Then he balled it up in his fist and chucked it at the back of Lily's head.

"Ow," she muttered quietly. She shot Sirius a dirty look when she reached down to the floor to pick it up.

"Miss Evans, what do you think you're doing?" McGonnagal's stern voice demanded.

"Oh, I, er…" She heard a small thud, and looked down. Alice had purposely dropped her own quill. "I dropped my quill!" Lily replied, holding up the writing utensil as evidence, and sliding back into her chair, with the note in hand.

McGonnagal gave her an appraising look; her lips pursed, and then shook her head as if she had decided that it wasn't worth pursuing.

"Thanks," Lily mouthed to Alice, who just smiled in return.

Lily read the trouble note quickly through narrowed eyes, and sighed dramatically. _Oh for God's sake! You have a map that shows everyone in the damn castle! Why don't you just use it?_

When Sirius received the note, he just glared at Lily, and wrote back: **How dense do you think we are? The map only shows the people in the castle and in the passageways, so that wouldn't help us even if James hadn't taken it! We've searched the entire castle, and he's not here. That's why we weren't at class this morning. But if you think you'd have better luck than us, feel free to look for him yourself! **

Then he tossed it to Lily again. She read it, then rolled it in to a tiny ball, and Vanished it. She turned her head slightly so he could hear her mutter, "Don't think I won't."

* * *

A/N: Okay, so originally this chapter was only going to be the second half and then another part where Lily sets off to find James. BUT, I didn't want to squeeze that into one chapter just so it can be done next week. With that being said, I'm just going to apologize in advance if I don't update next week. I will try as hard as I possibly can, but I'm not promising anything. There's only so much you can do on an airplane, or in a place with no WiFi. So, if there is wireless Internet in any of the airports I am in next weekend, I will get the next one up. If not, you'll have to wait another week for the next chapter. I'm terribly sorry, but that's the way it has to be.

On another note, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you could please review, that would make my day so much more exciting. Thanks, lovelies!

Love always,

Livelier


	13. Party in the Yellow Submarine

A/N: Yay, I got it done a day early! Hopfeully this makes up for next week; I'm going to have to post the next chapter on Sunday instead of Saturday like I prefer to do. Anyway, please enjoy this chapter! I think there's only one left, but I'm not entirely sure. It's constantly changing. R&R please! Thanks! :)

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own anything to do with Harry Potter, and, as much as I wish otherwise, I am not JK Rowling, nor do I have her talent. I am also not a member of The Beatles, and I am definitely not Miley Cyrus, nor did I write any of their songs. Sad day, huh?

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Chapter 13:

"I'm going to need the Cloak," Lily informed them after class was over, holding her hand out to Sirius, palm facing up.

All three boys looked at her with disbelief written all over their faces. "What?" Peter squeaked out. His eyes were wide, and his face red.

"If you want me to go looking for Ja—Potter, I mean—then you're going to have to let me borrow the Cloak," she repeated, tapping her foot impatiently, and curling her extended fingers in and out, motioning for him to hand it over. "Come on, give it here."

Sirius pursed his lips, and raised his eyebrows at her. "Honestly, Evans, how dense do you think we are?"

Lily opened her mouth to make a witty remark in response, but Remus cut across her before she could get the words out.

"It was rhetorical, Lily," he sighed.

"When I said we couldn't find James anywhere…well, it's pretty hard to find someone who's _invisible_!" Black at her harshly. "And even if James didn't have the Cloak, we wouldn't give it to you. It's for Marauder use only," he added, thrusting his nose into the air.

"Fine," Lily said indignantly, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "But if I get caught, I'm blaming _you_." As she said the last word, she jabbed Sirius in the chest with her index finger, and stalked off.

They watched her walk away with their heads tilted to the side. "I wonder if she knows that she can't blame someone who's in class, under the watchful eye of a professor?" Peter wondered after a few moments of silence.

"Amateur," Sirius snorted. He slung his arms over the other boys' shoulders and they headed off to their next class.

Meanwhile, Lily was climbing through the One-eyed Witch's hump, grumbling about immature boys, and hitting them over the head with their treasured broomsticks. She bent over and picked the bag she had pushed through the opening first, and began her long trek to the Honeyduke's cellar. Her trainers clicked nosily on the hard ground, filling the small tunnel with the echoes of her heavy footsteps. There was something very ominous sounding about that. It reminded her of the dreaded sound that she would always hear in frightening Muggle movies. The sound of feet coming up the stairs, the shadow of the culprit's body creeping toward the closet door where the victim hid, helpless…

Lily shivered and recast her _Lumos Maxima_ charm for good measure. When she reached the trap door at the end of the passageway, she pushed it open, never more eager to get out of that dark, foreboding tunnel. She poked her head out the top of the door to make sure no one was around, and then heaved herself up and out, and snuck into the shop.

There were only a few shoppers mingling about, being as it was a Sunday, and most of the people of the wizarding town were either at church, or enjoying the unseasonably warm weather outside. So, she was easily able to slip out of the cellar without being seen, and dodge quickly out the front door.

Now came the real challenge.

Where would someone look for an invisible teenage boy who probably feels as though he just got his heart punched out of his chest? He would probably want to do something that would take his mind off things a little bit, something to get a laugh. Naturally, Zonko's was the first place Lily thought to try, but after 10 minutes of futile searching, and trying multiple times to summon the damn cloak, she gave up and left the shop.

Once she was out in the fresh air, she realized that was a stupid place to look for James. He wouldn't want to laugh; he would want to _forget_. Knowing James, the best way he would think of to let go was to down some Firewhiskey, or perhaps something a little more potent, and the only place he could do that is the Hogs Head.

She dashed to the dimly lit pub, and pushed open the door. The bar was completely empty except for the long-time bartender, Aberforth. Lily approached the old man, who was busy wiping off the counter he stood behind. "Excuse me, sir, have you served any alcohol to an underage wizard in the last day or so?" Lily asked, keeping a very professional façade, although she really starting to worry.

The bartender raised his head slowly to look up at her and then glanced pointedly around the deserted pub. He snorted, shaking his head, and went back to work.

"Um, well," Lily tried again, speaking a little quieter and less boldly than before, "have you seen anyone around here that looks like he's young enough to be from Hogwarts?"

Aberforth shrugged unhelpfully, and Lily drummed her fingers on the surface of the bar. "Tall, messy black hair, probably wearing a Head Boy badge…" she prompted. _Good looking, invisible…_ she added silently.

The old man threw the ragged cloth down, and looked at Lily, annoyed. "Listen, lady, I don't know who you're talking about, and I haven't seen him around. Now, unless you're going to buy a drink or something, you should probably leave."

Lily crossed her arms over her chest, looking highly affronted, and stomped huffily out of the pub. She was half way out of the little town, determined to tell Sirius and the others to go screw themselves and find their own damn best friend, when she heard her stomach growl menacingly at her. She stopped for a moment, but when she didn't hear it make another noise, she continued walking. As soon as she took one step, her stomach clenched, and flipped over.

Lily sighed and checked her watch. It was nearly dinnertime, and she had missed lunch while on this wild goose chase, so she decided to turn around and head for the Three Broomsticks.

The place was packed. Madam Rosmerta and the one other waitress were the only ones working, and both were sending plates flying in every direction to the various tables, so Lily plunked herself down in the only available booth, ignoring the _Reserved_ sign.

Kneading her temples with her fingers, she muttered quietly to herself, cursing James for his stupid Invisibility Cloak, and elusiveness. "Damn Potter. How the hell am I supposed to know where he went? I don't have a freaking tracking device on him. Bloody git, that boy is. Guys are supposed to be brave, for God sakes, but no, he had to go hide! Coward…" she grumbled. "Merlin, I need a drink."

Lily dropped her head to the table, and began banging it on the wood.

"Yes, you do," slurred an amused, familiar voice. "Here, have someof…mine."

Lily raised her head slowly, and gasped what she saw. James's head was floating in midair across from her, and his seemingly detached hand was holding out a tall glass of Firewhiskey to her. She reached out and groped the air for the Cloak, seized it and pulled it off of him.

"Hey!" James exclaimed in a high-pitched voice. Then he giggled suddenly. "I feel so…naked. Do you feel naked? I do." More girlish giggles followed, along with a series of hiccups.

Lily sat frozen in her seat, staring wide-eyed at James. She had never seen him drunk before, although she was sure it wasn't an unusual occurrence for him, but she was almost positive she never wanted to see it again.

"It's too quiet in here!" he announced suddenly.

"Oh no," Lily groaned as he started belting out a popular Muggle tune for the entire place to hear.

"_And a Brittany song was on! So I put my hands up, they're playing my song, the butterflies fly away. Noddin' my head like YEAH! Moving me hips like Yeah!"_

"James! James, please quiet down!" Lily pleaded frantically, trying desperately to ignore the heads that were turning in their direction.

"What, you don't like that song?" James demanded, breaking off abruptly. "Fine, then."

Lily breathed a sigh of relief, but that quickly changed into one of horror. "I'm sorry! He's had a few too many Firewhiskeys!" she yelled to the crowd, over James's screeching of a Beatle's song. "Damn, I used to like that song."

"_We all live in a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine. We all live in a yellow sub__"_

"Okay, time to go!" Lily said, standing up.

But James wasn't going anywhere. "NO! I don't want to go!" he whined, clutching onto the table childishly.

"Come on, James, your mates are all worried about you. We need to go." Lily grabbed his arm and jerked him roughly out of the booth. He wobbled on his feet but was able to stay standing, so Lily let go of him for a second to get the Cloak, and then towed him out of the door.

"Bye, Rosy! Call me!" he called over his shoulder.

* * *

A/N: There you go. I know that James wouldnt listen to those songs, and would never know them word for word, but wierd things happen when people drink, so let's just pretend that he did know those songs. :) I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. If you didn't, I'm sorry about that. But you can easily let me know if you did or not by clicking that little button down there, and reviewing. They siriusly light up my day. Hopefully I have an inbox full of them by the time I get back from Spring Break. Thanks for reading!

Love always,

Livelier


	14. Bold questionsfinal chapter!

A/N: It's been two weeks in the making, but it's finally here. I'm sorry it took so long, but being as it's the last chapter in this epic tale okay, maybe not the epic part I wanted it to be perfect. Although I don't think I've achieved perfection, I think it's a good ending, even though it might be a bit short. And I hope you all agree. So, please enjoy this final chapter of Bet on Me!

Disclaimer: I am not only the furthest thing from a billionaire, but I'm also lacking the incredible raw talent that JKR has. So, therefore, I'm going to go ahead and make an educated guess that I am not her.

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Chapter 14:

Once outside in the fresh air, James staggered to the nearest bench and plopped down with a huff. Lily followed warily, and after a moment's hesitation, sat as far away from him as the bench would allow.

After a few moments of uncomfortable, stiff silence, James turned his body to her and studied her intently. "You're hair is very red," he announced suddenly.

Lily rolled her eyes. "That's funny. I hadn't noticed."

"Really? That's odd."

He was much slower smashed.

Lily didn't respond to that. She just sat there with her hands folded in her lap, staring straight ahead, pretending that nothing had ever happened between them, but wishing at the same time that it had.

James continued his scrutiny, noting how her brilliant red hair framed her pale, heart-shaped face perfectly, and the result of the excellent contrast between her bottle green eyes, pallid skin, and flaming hair.

He watched as those eyes flickered up to the sky, and a small melancholic smile tugged at the corners of her full lips. It made him wonder what she was thinking.

"You're beautiful," James said in the same matter-of-fact tone as he had before, but with a touch of awed wonder this time.

Lily finally looked at him. "You're drunk," she countered.

But James didn't appear to have heard her. His gaze did waver, and in the second their eyes met, Lily saw the same look in his eyes as she had many times over the last seven years whenever he looked at her. She felt her breath hitch in her throat, and turned sharply away from him. Out of the corner of her eye, Lily noticed the sparkle in his hazel eyes had been extinguished, and replaced with guilt and sadness.

James breathed in and let it out in a big gust of air. His breath created a cloud in front of him, but it was gone almost as soon as it came.

The tingling, warm feeling was dissipating slowly now, and he could already feel the headache coming on. James wasn't surprised. His body was used to the alcohol by now, and he could easily down two or three Firewhiskeys without being phased. But, unfortunately, he had a few more than that. Still, the feeling never lasted long, and for that he was grateful.

Lily sighed, and crossed her legs, wedging her hands between them to keep her fingers warm. James felt the inexplicable urge to hold them in his own, or at least give her his gloves…that is, if he had any to offer.

"What does it mean to love somebody?" Lily asked suddenly, throwing James for a loop.

At first, he was sure he must have imagined it. Why would she ask such a question? And when he looked over at her, nothing about her face or posture had changed to suggest she had just said something, and she still had that faraway look in her eyes as she stared up at the stars.

But when James looked a little closer, he saw the corners of her mouth turned down in frustration, and the little crease between her eyebrows.

He looked away before she could notice his close examination.

"I think," he began, tilting his head to the side, "that it means wanting to be with that person all the time, and enjoying every second of it when you are with them." James hesitated before adding, "At least, that's how I feel about you."

If Lily expected something like this, she sure didn't act like it. She glanced up at him with a mixture of panic and confusion in her eyes.

"You're drunk," she said again, but this time she said it with less conviction, and with more of a wild sort of hope.

"Maybe," he agreed with a shrug. "But being…under the influence clouds your judgment not your feelings."

Lily was already shaking her head frantically. "No, you can't love me. You made that ruddy bet! You can't possibly love someone and still agree to bet on her! You had to give Sirius 10 galleons!" she cried, jumping to her feet.

Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes, and she wiped them away with the back of her hand. "You can't love me," she repeated.

James ached to reach out to her and hold her, but he stayed seated on the bench, sitting on his hands. "It was never about the money, Lily," he said softly, looking at his feet.

Sirius's earlier words rang loudly in her ears. _James really did like you. Hell, he might even love you, Lily!_

Lily's hands began to tremble, and she closed her eyes. "You really…_love_ me?" she croaked out.

"Yes."

She let out a disbelieving sound a cross between a laugh and a relieved sob and opened her eyes.

Lily was shocked to find that, somehow, everything looked a bit more beautiful. The stars seemed brighter, the street less empty and dead than it had before, and even the trees looked livelier.

She stood there wide-eyed, ramrod straight, with her arms dangling loosely at her side.

Finally, James stood and moved closer to her. Lily didn't pull away, so he took that as a good sign, and took another step towards her.

Cupping her face in his hands, he whispered, "I love you, Lily Evans."

Her expression softened and she wrapped her arms around his waist. Smiling, she replied, "That's good. I don't like one-sided relationships."

James raised an eyebrow.

"I love you, too, James Potter."

Then she raised herself up on her tiptoes, and captured his lips with her own, sealing forever.

**The End**

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A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed my story as much as I loved writing it. I really have loved every minute of it, and I really appreciate everyone who read, favorited, subscribed, or reviewed it. I always look forward to opening my inbox and reading all those wonderful emails from Fanfiction. Thank you all so much!

On another note, to make up for my relatively slow update this time, I'm putting up the first chapter of my new fic, Joined at the Hip. I hope you guys can find the time to check that out. It's going to be a bit different than anything else I've done before, but I think it should be fun. Thanks, again!

Love always,

Livelier


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